


Sleeping Beauty: A Fractured Fairy Tale

by AngelOfDeath10



Category: Rurouni Kenshin
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Fairy Tale Retellings, Fantasy, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-23 22:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 32,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21088472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelOfDeath10/pseuds/AngelOfDeath10
Summary: As her birthday approaches Kaoru doesn't understand why the entrance of a stranger to her life causes her family such apprehension. Soon, her fate will be forced to intervene. . .





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, and just to be safe I'll add that I don't own anything even relating to Disney. I don't think anyone owns the original story, since it's a folk tale.
> 
> Originally written in 2004.

It all started with a birth. A lot of things do, when you think about it.

Wait. Stop. That's not quite correct. We're getting ahead of ourselves. You see, if we are going to be accurate this all really started with a death.

Long ago, before an enchantress named Tomoe knew of pain and suffering, she had a fiancé. He was a good man, and a gentle man, but he was a warrior just the same. When she remembered him, later, all she could ever speak of were his hands and his voice. They were deft hands, ones that wielded a sword as skillfully as they could unknot her hair when he would sometimes brush it for her. His voice was gentle, a whisper through the leaves, and it reminded her of autumn. The memory of his voice surpassed even his name in her fevered mind. They had grown up together.

But this fall would never realize a winter, for a warrior is trained to fight and when they brought back the body no one was surprised, not even Tomoe. They were going to be married so soon, and if the villagers thought the girl cold because of her lack of grief, it was simply a relief to see a person not touched by the plague of tears that had been spreading in endemic proportions. The country was rife with civil war, and the new king had yet to be decided. Yet the politics and conjectures did nothing for the girl who watched her love and sanity be carried home to her motionless beneath a sheet. She did not cry, but for every tear she did not shed, another grain of something raw unfurled inside of her.

An enchantress was born. Born of blood, this poor child had no recourse or knowledge to deal with these powers.

Some stories were meant to end happily, but not hers, and when the understanding of this finally reached her inside of her almost coma-like sense of trauma, she considered taking her own life. Tomoe found that she couldn't take her own life. Not yet. He wouldn't have wanted that for her. Her powers, untrained and wild, lashed out at awkward times, earning her the scorn and fear of her people.

"Poor girl. . ." They said it behind her back, but few would chance her madness and sorrow to offer that human compassion which this broken girl needed so desperately.

So she left her erstwhile home, and she wandered. . .

Far.

And long. . .

Until the mountains swallowed her up and deep caverns were filled with her sadness. In those mountains she discovered monsters, but even these creatures of the underground feared her power, grown stronger now with passage of time and the intensity of her pain. They brought her gifts to appease the fluctuations of mood that threatened to destroy their homes if she was left alone. They gave food. One built a bed. But it was no enough, and the storms that raged outside of the mountain, making it forever dark a mile in every direction, killed off most of the sustaining plants. Only the cavern dwellers stayed to be her subjects.

And so the Western Spire was slowly constructed, where Tomoe lived with her army of creatures that she controlled but remained only vaguely aware of. It took only a few years for the superstitions to begin.

The edge of the kingdom was as rural as the rest, and slowly the tales spread, aided by the continuing war that sapped the finest youth from the farms of every common person and the castles of noble lords. They said that for every soldier killed, the wicked enchantress shed a tear of blood, drunk from the sacrifices brought to her.

If they knew that instead she wandered, near dead from exposure, about her wild and dark domain then perhaps they would have pitied her more. Or at all. She was a creature that needed pity, or perhaps something more and some think that that is what really saved the boy that day.

It was one of these lost expeditions that brought Tomoe to the narrow pass that travelers used to cross her mountains only if they were truly desperate. This winter had been particularly harsh, and this was the quickest way, but the monsters were hungry and even bodyguards could not make out the more vicious ones in the flurries of snow. Tomoe looked at clothes inside of a wagon, one of its wheels torn off entirely. A wolf bared its teeth at Tomoe, only to receive the same stony glare that she honored all threats with.

The wolf backed away whining.

Tomoe looked in at the bundle the wolf had been nosing, when the bundle sneezed.

It was a baby. A perfect little boy with a patch of wild black hair on his scalp and shockingly colored eyes that seemed to glow blue green under her gaze, still blank, but cracking in this snow storm as if the sun had risen in this wagon. Ice floes started to move, exposing just enough of her heart to start it pumping again.

There was little she could offer this bundle, but as she gathered it to her and whispered the curse of her unconditional love, she heard his laugh and smiled herself for the first time in what felt like eons to her.

"We are siblings, little one." Her mind gained some footing, all for the sake of her bundle. "My darling brother. My Enishi." And as she stroked the soft hair of his head it turned white to her touch. This was her mark upon him, her favor, her inheritance.

She brought him home and fed him. The monsters soon felt the change in mood, and now once in a while the storms would cease their rage even if the boiling clouds never left and darkness held permanent sway over the mountain. Enishi grew up with goblins and night terrors for playmates, and the only one of them that he knew how to love was the girl who called him brother. But she was the most terrible of them all, and the most serenely beautiful.

For Enishi had brought back enough of her sanity to direct her energies. She was too powerful and too full of hurt, and she devoted her time to staring into the crystal globe that was mounted in the center of her great throne room. It showed her any portion of the kingdom, and in it they both saw acts of war cruel and terrible. Tomoe absorbed it, looking for something, while Enishi simply absorbed it.

When Enishi was six, a beam of light shone through the permanent clouds. Startled at this unprecedented turn of events, Enishi decided to ask his sister what had happened to cause this phenomena. The light had nearly blinded him, and he feared it. He moved down from playing with the ravens in the high tower down to the throne room where Tomoe was collapsed on the floor. His six year old self could not understand what was going on, so he simply sat and waited, surrounded by Tomoe's minions as they apprehensively waited for Tomoe to make a move.

Tomoe woke and picked herself up off of the floor. Her glance, like a hug in how it reassured Enishi, offered up simply fright to the creatures in the room besides those two. Light was gone, replaced by the play of lightening in dark clouds above.

"It is time to greet the new king."

Enishi simply nodded.

***

"Listen, I am NOT wearing them and that is final." Sanosuke sauntered through the street, on one side of the man he was addressing with the rude point of a finger.

"This is an official occasion. If you don't wear them then I will be forced to _take action_. I don't take insubordination lightly."

The laugh from the other side of the stoic leader made Sanosuke feel twice as disgruntled.

"It isn't as if people's are going to be surprised, Sanosuke. I mean, you've always been a fairy and so have I. We must simply make the best of it. Think of all the free food." Soujiro's optimistic take on things was not what Sanosuke wanted to hear.

"Listen, rookie, I have a reputation to uphold. . ."

"What reputation? You'll wear the wings or else I'll force you to wear the outfit too. The official outfit. We're a team, and you must be part of it." Aoshi moved forward with purpose towards the line of nobles that were moving towards the castle and away from Sanosuke who fumed and removed a wand from within a deep pocket.

A flick and a twirl of the wand later, Sanosuke was sporting his much hated wings.

"See? That wasn't so bad was it?"

"Shut your trap Soujiro. Your smile is starting to make my face hurt."

They bickered (or rather Sanosuke insulted Soujiro and Soujiro laughed it off) until Aoshi finally gave way just a little.

"Halt!" Aoshi turned to face his team. "You are embarrassing us, both of you. We fairies have a dignity to maintain."

"What dignity?" Sanosuke seemed incredulous. "We got assigned by the organization here because we messed up on that whole beast thing. You know it, I know it. We're the laughingstock of our kind anyway why not just accept it?"

Aoshi took a deep breath and counted to ten before he spoke.

"And need I remind you who exactly it was who enchanted the rose with the wrong spell?"

Sano shrugged. "A frog is a beast."

"It isn't exactly big and fearsome now, is it?" Aoshi snapped.

"Hey, I'd be scared of a six foot frog if I were some random person."

"That isn't the point at all." Aoshi tried to salvage the situation. "At any rate, let's just greet the king later when we're all a little more. . . composed."

Soujiro was moving from the line with the rest of them when he heard a page boy talking to a flag bearer.

"And then the day we got the announcement, there was this flash from the mountain. . . the witch. . . she knows."

Even if his smile didn't falter, Soujiro felt his brow knit in concern. Tomoe hadn't moved from her tower in years, there was no reason to believe she'd make trouble today. What fault could she find with a christening?

His wings sprang to life, lifting his small form from the ground before he reduced his size and zipped after his colleagues. All they needed to do was give their gifts to the girl that had born to the newly crowned King Goro and his wife Queen Tokio.

This was Soujiro's first time in the field. Up until now he had been training with the other fairies his age. It was difficult to be a fairy in this day and age. People didn't have much faith in their gentle and beneficent magic, but when the invitation came to attend the christening of the new princess of this sadly depleted and still restless kingdom Soujiro knew he had to volunteer. While the other members of his class went on to be fairy godmothers or hermits awaiting deserving lost children, he knew he had to be active and make a difference.

Sanosuke and Aoshi were legend. Or at least Sanosuke was legend for his screw ups even as Aoshi was famous for somehow fixing them. It was just a sad twist of fate that Sanosuke took to people so well whereas Aoshi had a godchild run crying from him once (much to his displeasure). They were made a team not too long ago, and with Soujiro just added on, Aoshi seemed like he felt even more like he needed to bear up the responsibility of their success.

Or failure.

Well, Soujiro knew exactly what he was giving the princess, so there was nothing to worry about from him. The gods only knew what Sanosuke would gift the princess with. Knowing his it would probably be something ridiculous like good sword skills.

"Oi! Soujiro! Hurry it up!" Sanosuke's distinctive yell forced the young fairy to speed up and rejoin the duo.

"So, Sanosuke, just so we don't double up on anything, what are you giving the princess?"

Aoshi seemed to tilt his head back to try to catch the answer to Soujiro's question more easily. The tall man rubbed his chin, then chewed on the tip of his wand. Finally, a big grin spread across his face.

"Dunno, I was gonna wing it."

All three of them narrowly avoided a midair collision as Aoshi halted.

"No. Just no. You are not doing this to us."

"Don't worry, Aoshi, I have some things in mind. It'll be fine I promise. You get too serious about this stuff." Sanosuke fiddled with his wand in a nervous fashion, belying his casual tone.

Aoshi flew up and poked a finger into Sanosuke's chest. "This little girl has to live with this for her whole life. If you take this blessing as a joke, I swear I'll cut off those wings you complain about so much and feed them to a troll."

Even though he looked sobered, Sanosuke still stuck out his tongue at Aoshi when the other man had gone down to tell the attendant to announce their arrival to the court.

"That man takes this job a little too seriously."

Soujiro deigned not to comment.

"Their Excellencies, the fairies Aoshi, Sanosuke, and Soujiro." The loud voice below cued them into their needful attention.

"Looks like we're up." Sanosuke glowed red, to Soujiro's blue and Aoshi's yellow and the three of them enlarged and landed neatly before the thrones and the bassinet at the end of the large hall.

King Goro rose to shake Aoshi's hand as the Queen greeted all three of them with a hug. She whispered her thanks to each of them, and the fairies got an idea that perhaps it was this beaming queen who had been the inspiration behind their invitation.

As Aoshi traded the formalities with the king, Sanosuke and Soujiro wandered over to look at the princess with Queen Tokio as more nobles were announced and entered the hall busy with noise and movement. The laughing baby seemed oblivious.

"Would you like to hold her?" Sanosuke couldn't believe he had been asked such a question, but the confidence that the queen held about her person reassured him.

"Sure, hand her on up." Soujiro hoped that the sometimes gruff but mostly flippant fairy knew what he was doing.

More importantly, he hoped that Sanosuke knew that babies didn't actually bounce. Not literally anyway. Of course, once the little girl was in his arms, Soujiro knew that his fears were ridiculous. Sanosuke couldn't take his eyes off the little girl, and the big hands cradled her to his chest even as she reached for his gravity defying hair and he laughed at her efforts.

The proud queen whispered to the two fairies. "You want to know what her name will be? We're announcing it after your gifts are bestowed."

Sanosuke just nodded, still entranced by the child.

"Kaoru. Her name will be Kaoru." Tokio looked at the blue eyes that took after hers with only flecks of her father's gold at the edges. "She was born on the day the war ended. Her father and I will keep this kingdom peaceful for her at any cost." Soujiro, for only a moment, felt the steel of her glance. Tokio took back her precious bundle from a reluctant Sanosuke.

Goro got the attention of the court, an assortment of uneasy allies and somewhat seething losing factions. Their fates were decided a month ago, when the civil war ended and Goro was chosen as the new leader. Or rather, he chose himself, as he held the banner of his enemy before him in triumph but stained with the blood of both of them. He swore on the day of his small coronation that he would destroy any evil that came before him. Little did he know that there was evil waiting for him that he could not conquer.

When their names were mentioned, the three fairies approached the bassinet. Soujiro first, then Aoshi, with an oddly reflective Sanosuke behind them all.

"My sweet laughing princess," Soujiro swept his wand up in a well practiced arc as he concentrated on the burst of power that came from within it. "I give to you the ability of being a good judge of character. There are many evils in this world, but there is good as well, and we are lucky if we can tell one from the other for people wear many faces. You shall see the reality. This is my gift to you." With the last words spoken he bound the spell to the princess, changing her fate.

It didn't need to be done, but people liked flashy magic and the rain of sparkling blue that accompanied his finishing waves produced a cascade of murmurs from the crowd. Aoshi looked irritated with him, since he disapproved of flashy magic, but Soujiro had set the standard and he would remain consistent. Aoshi stepped up to the princess.

"Precious princess," There was the distinctive sweep of Aoshi's wand, with its brisk movements. "You have as much beauty and intelligence as anyone can ask for in this world, and I see it in your fate. All I can offer you is courage. Courage to fight for your beliefs, to speak your mind, or to do what must be done. Fear is a powerful force in this world, but it will never rule your life. This is my gift to you." The shower of yellow glitter landed around the little girl, and she reached out small hands to catch what she could.

Sanosuke stepped up, and searched for his wand through pockets while Aoshi boiled in irritation near them. When he found it, and saluted the waiting crowd they gave a little laugh.

"Dearest princess. . ." But he got no further for above them the windows shattered and a burst of glass and snow rained down upon the screaming crowd. Sanosuke had leapt to cover the princess as she began to cry from the commotion. Tokio and Goro were quick to act as they calmed the crowd with a mere yell for silence. Goro was a leader of men, and Tokio commanded more than a little respect and fear by his side. The queen rescued her child from the bassinet and held her close and she wailed.

Darkness concentrated in the center of the room until a woman's form solidified, a child with wild white hair stood by her with a peculiar smile on his face. They were like demons in the midst of these frightened people. Those who had thought the tales of the enchantress in the western mountains was just a fabrication found they needed to revise their opinions. She was very real and strangely frightening for all her form was so frail looking.

Tomoe stood in a simple dress, shawl about her shoulders, thought she didn't look as if she felt any of the cold she had brought with her. Her glossy black hair was tied back, and her black eyes seemed to look deep into the well of her soul where turbulent currents barely stirred the surface. She looked around, as if surprised at where she found herself.

"What a mess I have made." The shards of glass that covered the floor glowed purple and reconstituted themselves into windows above once again. Still, it was as cold as winter despite the summer sun outside.

Now turning her attention the baby Sanosuke and Tokio guarded, Tomoe looked almost tender. The boy at her side captured her glance next, but as if he reminded her of something, her eyes became hard again.

"I have yet to thank you, dear king, for ending the war. The war that you gained your kingdom through. That you also gained a wife and a child from, while thousands died for and because of you. . . Perhaps I can show my thanks by offering my own gift to this little child of yours."

Soujiro felt stabs of guilt. If only he had said something. . . maybe they could have come up with a plan. Both he and Aoshi's magic was severely depleted after their gifts and it would be days before they had enough power to face up against the likes of Tomoe. Sanosuke was their only hope, but there was no way he knew what to do and the spell he had started would be lost if he did anything to bind the witch, as well as possibly fouling whatever magic he tried to transform it into.

He also knew something else: that Tomoe was only human, and a human did not have the energy or ability to offer a gift like fairies did without paying a terrible consequence.

"Listen well!" Her soft voice rose in volume, becoming a booming presence of its own before those assembled. "The princess will indeed grow up strong and good, lovely and loved, possessing every blessing. . . but" The entire hall seemed to be holding their breath. "Before the dawn of her eighteenth year, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and enter the sleep we never exit. She will die as all mortals must. Unlucky princess, this is my gift to you. . .and to your kingdom." The three fairies saw her purple binds of magic encircle the baby and were helpless to prevent it. Tomoe was using her very life force to cast this magic. She would not live long past this day, and they need only wait for her reign of malice to end even if her curse would carry on.

The little boy clung to her skirts as she nearly collapsed before them all. With a cough, Tomoe rose, and with the second smile she had given since the day she beheld her dead fiancé, she vanished.

Those present were left to their shock.

With a tightening of his lips, the general once known as The Wolf but now known to all as their sovereign turned to the fairies with accusations in his eyes but only a question on his lips:

"Can you undo this curse?"

Aoshi, stoic as always but still moved by his helplessness, found himself unable to express anything to this father. He looked to Sanosuke, the tall dangerous looking man who found himself captured in the gaze of the baby who had only stopped crying when Tomoe had fled.

"Your majesty, 'once a gift is given it cannot be rescinded'." The official words sounded strange on Sanosuke's lips, as he invoked an ancient rule that their kind had not been obliged to explain in centuries. "But I'll still do what I can for the kid."

Sanosuke concentrated, trying to think before he finished the ritual he had begun previous to Tomoe's entrance.

". . . any gift I could give you would do little I'm afraid. Instead of talents, I'll give you a chance. Instead of death, I offer you a half-life. For sleep you shall enter, but from sleep you will awaken through the tried and true power of a kiss. True love shall save you, and for love you shall wait, preserved from time or decay until he arrives. This is my gift to you."

Tokio nodded to Sanosuke, baby still clutched to her chest, thanking him while her throat was too choked for words to escape.

People began to move and breathe again as they felt the need to talk about what they had witnessed. It was an ill omen for the new king to face such a thing, and already his enemies had forgotten their terror of the specter of Tomoe and instead reveled in this turn of luck. The Wolf may be strong, but this would eat at him, and if he showed any weakness they would strike at him and claim his power for their own. Tomoe's gift was malicious not only to the king but also for his fragile peace.

Goro was only too aware of the mixed glances of pity and greed. He told Aoshi to meet with him later that evening to talk of what he could do to prevent the curse from coming to pass. Aoshi agreed that they could put together a plan, and the three fairies dismissed themselves.

It didn't take long to find an empty room in the great palace. It was a storage chamber, filled with broken chairs, cracked mirrors, rusting suits of armor, and some outdated sets of china. Sanosuke tried to sit on a chair only to land on the floor with a crunch of old wood and a loud expletive.

Soujiro tried to think of what he could do to help. "We could turn the princess into something that has no fingers, like a— oh I don't know. A rose?"

"A flower? That has it's own set of problems. All it takes is a careless gardener and she'd be dead in the soil." Sanosuke snorted as he tried to put the chair back together unsuccessfully.

"Well you aren't exactly coming up with any solutions." Soujiro didn't stop his smile, but his tone was impatient.

Sanosuke looked defensive and brandished a chair leg aggressively. "I did what I could, ok?"

"Both of you stop it!" Aoshi wasn't in the mood for this. Another failure. . . he was bound by his guilt. He needed to do something to make it up to himself, to that helpless child, to the world. And then he thought of it. "We'll just have to raise her ourselves."

"Excuse me?" Soujiro turned to face their leader, as did Sanosuke.

Aoshi looked slightly ruffled. "Well, it isn't unprecedented. I mean, we know best how to protect her. Fate has been changed before. Besides, soon the sorceress will be dead and what can she do beyond the grave? We are not incompetents, are we?"

Sanosuke seemed to be seriously considering the idea. For his behalf, Soujiro still thought it was madness.

"Eighteen years! That's almost two decades of taking care of a child! We'd be out of commission for so long. . ."

"What makes you think we finished today's mission? That girl became our responsibility the moment we walked in the palace doors. Just because we aren't official fairy godfathers doesn't mean we're absolved from commitment. We will do our part and gladly. If not, then Sanosuke and I will continue it alone. Right?"

His partner nodded. "My uptight friend is correct. This is our duty. Besides, I like the rugrat. . . .hmmm . . . 'Uncle Sano'. . . I like the sound of that."

This sort of peer pressure was almost impossible to resist. Soujiro quickly made his decision to stay. And so their sentence was decided.

***

With a deed for some land in the eastern portion of the kingdom and a basket full of baby Kaoru, the three fairies stole into the night. The king had been reluctant and the queen even more so, but Aoshi made a strong case. Goro had enough on his plate needing to secure his power base and to make sure no new wars began rather than worry after the health of his daughter. If these fairies could protect her in a way he could not, then both parents were willing to let go. But only until she turned eighteen. Then she would have to return to them. Tokio held her daughter well into the night before she left, and the noble lady held back her tears as she waved the fairies off.

While the queen held back her tears in the castle, Enishi was in the mountains of the west holding back his own from spilling onto the dying form of his sister.

***

Tomoe was delirious with fever and tried to reassure the boy that it would be ok and she was sorry. The madness had lifted from her eyes entirely, like she had just stepped out of a nightmare into the daylight. She spoke of strange things, of regret and broken promises. Now that death was near to her she realized what mattered the most.

The living.

She had existed in a world of death when she had so much out there to live for. Her mistakes were beyond the scope of her ability to mend them. Instead she tried to pass what power she had left to Enishi.

"Don't let it go to waste. . . don't be what I was. . ." She spoke so faintly into his ear that he didn't know what she was trying to say. Six years old was too young to be left alone, and both of them were all too aware of this.

"I'll finish your work sister, I swear it. I'll make them pay." It was like watching him losing his childhood and Tomoe's shattered heart couldn't break any further.

Tomoe smiled for the final time, her turbulent black eyes finally settling their currents. "You don't understand. I failed you, dear brother." She was fading away but she clutched at life to try to dissipate some of the poison that was already seeping from the boy. Maybe the only true curse she possessed was her love after all.

"Please don't. . ."

But her request had come to late to save either of them.

Enishi wailed, and a new storm began above their heads. Now he owned everything Tomoe had—both her power and her agonized emotional instability. She had gained her peace too late and at great cost.

When Enishi ordered the monsters to bury Tomoe the next day, they instinctively obeyed, knowing this boy now held the power of their personal god.

He had to grow strong.

He would make them pay.

And he had to find that baby girl.


	2. Chapter 2

"So then what happened to the boy?" Yahiko's wide eyes betrayed his unparalleled interest in the tale.

Sano stroked his chin. "The boy? Well, he became a powerful dark magician and scoured the land for the princess, but he couldn't find her. The fairies had been clever and they had hid too well. Each passing year made the sorcerer more and more enraged with his failure, and so long as the Western Spire is surrounded by a raging storm all know that Tomoe's curse goes unfulfilled." He quietly tucked his hand into one sleeve. "Some say that to gain more power the magician gave his hand to a devil, so instead he has a mechanical hand just like this. . . WAAAH!"

"AUGH!" Yahiko jumped as Sano jetted out a hand from the sleeve and grabbed the boy's ankle.

"Uncle Sano! I can't believe you still tell that crazy story. It isn't exactly comforting." Kaoru shook a blanket, airing it on the porch next to the boys. "Yahiko, go home, I'm sure Tae needs help with weeding. The plants are coming up like crazy these days."

Sullenly, Yahiko picked himself up and wandered down the stone walkway that led to the dirt road he used to get home. Past the orchards was his house where he lived with his sister Tae and their grandfather. They grew a lot of varied produce, most of which they ate, but some of which they sold at the weekly market. His reluctance was substantial at first because Sano liked to tell amusing stories, but the scare he had just received from the older man made him a bit resentful.

As Yahiko wandered away with a wave back at Kaoru, she looked down to see her uncle with a rare contemplative frown on his face.

"When did you get more responsible than me, Jouchan?"

"When I was about five, you silly rooster head." She gave the blanket a few more vigorous shakes and then sat down on the porch herself. It was hot out, and the sweat on her brow did little to alleviate the oven that was her body. "When are the boys getting back?"

"Dunno. Jiro will take forever in deciding what to buy, and then Aoshi will probably brow beat the poor merchant until he lowers his price to some impossible amount. . . those two just don't know how to shop."

Kaoru laid down on the porch, letting a small breeze toss her bangs back. "If you hadn't broken that shovel. . ."

"Listen, how am I supposed to know where there are rocks? Seriously, it's tree planting, not something weird like spellcasting or something."

"You just have magic on the brain. You need to stop telling those stories. It puts impossible ideas into Yahiko's head. Fairies and dark magicians. No one believes that kind of stuff anymore. If you must then tell him something nice next time. I like the one about the big frog prince. . ."

Sano looked a little uncomfortable. "Aoshi was the one who told that story. . ."

"Oh yeah." She tried to act casual as she played with some hair, twining it about one finger. "You know, uncle, I turn eighteen next week. . ."

Sano practically sprang up from the porch. "I just remembered I left the pitchfork in the far corner of the grove. I'll be right back." Heat notwithstanding, Sano made quick time into the trees.

Kaoru wished that her uncles and cousin would be less mysterious about what they were planning for her birthday. Aoshi simply wouldn't say anything, and Sano (who was usually a soft touch when she really poured on the charm) was using a quick retreat tactic that meant she couldn't push for answers there. Jiro would just laugh and tell her to be patient. But it was ok, because every year her birthdays just got better and better.

Last year they had lit up the entire orchard with lamps in the trees and all of them plus Tae and Yahiko and neighbors for miles around played tag among the trees. Then they had eaten cake and pies with sweet cream until she thought she would never be able to walk again.

It was fun, but sometimes Kaoru wondered if she would be anything besides a kid to her relatives. Even Jiro saw her as a child just out of the crib. They had, as of late, gotten especially fond of reminiscing among themselves about the early days when they had just started taking care of her. Once her parents had died and the men had found themselves saddled with a baby girl, at first they didn't know what to do, but soon frantic confusion turned into confident routine.

Then she had learned to walk and it was incompetent terror all over again for the men. Or so they said. But since Aoshi didn't correct them, she assumed that at the very least it was hard at the beginning. Behind all the complaining, Aoshi had said once to her one night when she got particularly indignant about the stories, was a lot of love.

"We miss those days, because it seemed like we had all the time in the world. Now you are growing up so quickly and—" he just stopped talking and gave her a hug before walking off. After that she didn't mind the stories so much.

She didn't feel like she was growing up. Other than the chores and seeing her friend Tae about every day, not much really happened in her life. Every now and then Sano would start telling stories about some adventure he had, but if it got too raunchy then Aoshi or Jiro would stop him. Kaoru knew there was more out there and she wanted to experience it. Good or bad, she certainly was ready to leave this quiet little farming community. What she wanted for her eighteenth birthday, more than anything, was a trip to the city. Maybe even to move there. That's why none of them would talk to her about her birthday. Each one didn't want to be the one to tell her no.

Well, she was going to do it with or without their approval, but she'd rather try to get it before she just took off for the capital to the south west. Tae said she had been there once to visit a family member who owned a pub there. She said it was large and full of people and that even at night noise seemed to fill the world. For Kaoru, who was sick of the silence, it seemed like heaven.

The fact was she was a bit lonely for the kind of companionship she knew her family and friends couldn't provide.

Dammit, every girl she knew besides her already had a boyfriend. What made her so intimidating?

Other than three large, strong, overly protective male relatives who outstripped just about every man around in looks and brains?

Hm.

Well, only a man who could surpass her uncles would be worthy of her anyway. That's what she told herself when she was feeling strong and independent. Sometimes she wished that maybe her uncles and cousin would just turn a blind eye when a boy tried to talk to her. They didn't really try anymore. Most had gotten scared and then looked elsewhere.

The heat made her angry and sleepy. Maybe now was a good time for her to seek out the river. It would be cold and it was early enough in summer that it would still be deep enough to swim in a bit. So what if they didn't want her to go alone into the forest next to the orchards. Her relatives weren't here now and she was hot and irritated at them anyway.

A swim was exactly what she needed.

***

"I thought you said you'd have something useful to tell me. This isn't news. Time runs short and I am not a patient man with those who waste my time." Enishi pushed his glasses further up onto his eyes. They blocked the hurtful rays of sun that his eyes had never fully adjusted to after growing up and living on a mountain of dark stormy days and even darker nights.

"Please, Your Excellency, King Goro is most difficult to extract information from and my son remains ignorant of my plans. He will thank me one day when he is on the throne. . ."

"Your intrigues bore me. What can you offer me besides the same old information, or should I take my aid to some other power hungry imbecile?"

The man quivered beneath the sorcerer's gaze. "I would never do anything to anger you, Your Excellency, you know I wish for the completion of your mission as much as my own."

"You are a worm, Himura. If your son Kenshin were not officially engaged to the princess then I would not have spared you a second glance. Goro knows what a threat you are to him, which is why he proposed the alliance." Enishi took a sip of the wine Lord Himura had offered and then began to rise from his chair.

"It's my son!" Himura finally bit out. Enishi turned with a look of renewed interest. "Goro told my son that if he wanted to meet his bride before the wedding, then she could be found in the eastern edges of the kingdom. Kenshin would tell me no more, said it would be 'untrustworthy' of him to betray the trust of the king." Himura took a gulp of wine. "Follow my son and you'll find what you desire."

Enishi saw a man who claimed to want to give his son everything, but who just sold his son's honor away for his own bid for the throne. This is why he didn't like people. Even the goblins and trolls under his command were more trustworthy. Possibly more likable as well.

"When I am successful, you will have the use of my armies for your war against Goro. And don't worry Himura, I won't harm your son so long as he doesn't get in my way. . ."

With a dramatic sweep of black cloak, Enishi vanished and finally Lord Himura felt like he could breathe again. The heat of summer seeped back into the room, replacing the natural cold the magician seemed to bring with him on each visit. Himura drained his cup and poured himself another glass of wine.

"Not get in the way? You obviously don't know Kenshin. . ."

***

Yahiko was almost home when he came across a lost looking man on a horse wandering down the road. The man had a friendly face and shockingly red hair tied back with a leather strap. From his clothes he looked wealthy, or more wealthy than anyone around here. Yahiko felt a little shy, but soon got over it as the man got down off his horse and addressed the boy directly and politely.

"I'm afraid I seem to have lost my way. Could you tell me where a girl named Kaoru lives?"

Yahiko wondered if he should tell this man where she lived, but then remembered that at least Sano was there so maybe it would be all right.

"Buso? Well, she's just down until you get to the trees and take a right. Hard to miss. They're the last ones on the road. Just be careful, Sano and the rest don't like boys calling on her without any notice."

The violet eyed man just gave a friendly smile and thanked Yahiko, and even gave him a coin for his trouble. When Yahiko glanced down, he was shocked to find the glint of gold in his hand. Why, he and Tae couldn't grow enough vegetables to make this much in six months! Since when did Kaoru have such rich guys after her?

That wasn't to be the last of his shock for the day. He was maybe a yard or two from the pathway down to his house when another horseman came down the road faster than any runaway cart. Yahiko watched, stunned and curious, as the horseman halted suddenly in front of him.

If the first man had been intimidating, then this man was just frightening. On a black horse with red eyes, the he looked down on the boy from behind tinted glasses. His white hair shone in the light, and Yahiko swore he had never seen anyone wear that much black in the middle of summer.

"Are you stupid boy? I asked you if you saw a man with red hair pass by here? His tracks got muddled about three miles back." When Yahiko continued to stare, he ignored the boy and swore. "I can't lose him now! I've come too far. . ."

"D-d-down to the end of the lane, sir." Yahiko pointed as the horse pranced and snapped at the air with sharp teeth. Did all horses have red eyes? The boy couldn't remember that let alone his own name right now.

"Good boy. I knew you couldn't be as useless as the rest of these hicks." He threw down a coin, this one glinting silver in the light. Then in a cloud of dust the stranger was gone, and Yahiko threw off a sudden chill as he picked up the silver coin. It took him a moment to take in what had just happened, then, naturally, he ran in to tell his sister everything in a breathless stream of incoherent and excited babble.

***

Not too much later, down the road Kenshin couldn't understand what had gone wrong. This was the place, but there was no one in sight. Maybe he hadn't gone far enough. He left the house surrounded by orchards and went down the lane further, entering the woods and looking for another small path that promised to lead to a house. King Goro had been so reluctant, but seeing as it was so close to day of the wedding, he felt that perhaps it would be best after all to let the bridegroom actually meet his bride. So he gave the two most precious secrets of his kingdom to this young man who had proved himself loyal and honest so many times in the past: the name and location of the princess.

No one called her by name, it was said, lest you share her curse. That was just superstition, begun by the king who kept her name secret lest the sorcerer discover her location that way. Kenshin rolled the name around in his mind. Kaoru was a good name. Maybe marriage would not be so bad if he looked at it optimistically. He wasn't crazy about the idea, and he didn't particularly want to be king, but he had a feeling that that was part of why Goro agreed when his father sent in the proposal. Of course, his father had never asked him, but he was a dutiful son and he would abide by this course of action as if he had decided it for himself.

Hm. Looked like he was lost again. Maybe if he turned around. . .

"I don't have time for this. Just tell me where the princess is, and we all can end this as soon as possible." Enishi was fed up with Kenshin's slow indecision. There was less than a week left, and he would win at whatever cost. Following in silence was not something he really felt like doing anymore.

Kenshin drew his sword. "Who are you and why are you addressing me in such a way?"

"Why, simply a retainer of your father's. He was worried about you. . ."

"I don't believe you."

"Listen Himura, don't make this difficult for both of us." Enishi felt like he was so close, and the hunger in him was making him sloppy. "All I need is the location of the princess. Even if you don't give it to me, I will find her. But if you tell me then I won't be forced to kill you."

"You're the dark magician, aren't you?"

Enishi rolled his eyes behind his glasses. "Brilliant deduction. I can see why your father has such high hopes for you. Seems as if today the universe is proving to me that no intelligent life actually exists on this planet." He withdrew his own sword. "Very well then, shall we begin?"

Surprisingly, Kenshin struck first with an amazing speed and strength that Enishi would never have guessed he possessed. Vaguely he remembered that Kenshin was Goro's new watchdog, called the Manslayer by his enemies. That might have been good to recall earlier, especially now that he was knocked from his horse.

Kenshin too dismounted, wanting the battle to be even to give his quarry a chance. No one had ever been able to match him in fair combat. He was not overly confident; he simply wanted to be chivalrous. Enishi didn't miss this act and decided not to waste his breath taunting the man. Loosing his concentration, his spirit steed dissolved and now Enishi considered what magic could aid him. However, even that much hesitation cost him. The little Manslayer had slashed at Enishi's arm, but only because the magician had dodged the killing blow to his neck.

Damn this knight was fast. Magic would take too long, and that meant he had to rely on his sword.

When it was all over, Kenshin admired at how fast even this wounded and tired sorcerer was, but ultimately Kenshin was the better and more practiced swordsman and much better rested. Enishi fell, bleeding from a dozen places. No one could survive blood loss like that, and Kenshin didn't feel the need to administer any additional blows to a fallen foe. Besides, he had his own wounds to attend to, as well as a father to question. Despite Enishi's accusation, Kenshin was very bright and he knew better than anyone that his father was not the most honest of men. Kaoru would have to wait. He had a long ride back and he needed immediate medical attention. No one had hurt him this badly since he was still a knight in training, and it was almost sad that he had not been able to fight this man at his full strength.

There was a small town a score of miles back. He could make it by nightfall if he pushed the horse.

The dust from the horses' hooves settled down on the body of the slowly dying magician. His tight black clothes were stopping the blood from escaping too quickly from his body, but if no one came then he was doomed to die here on this road. And all because he was so greedy to avenge his sister that he couldn't keep his mouth shut and his head down for a few more hours.

"Tomoe," he screamed in his head. "I'm so sorry. . ." Someday he would fulfill her curse. Maybe then he could see her smile again.

***

Kaoru felt cold now. She had stayed in the river for too long and her body was pale and shivering from its icy touch. That and the terrible feeling she had gotten from the echoing of something through the woods that had disturbed her while she dressed again. It sounded like when Uncle Aoshi pounded out the tin roof for the chicken coop into its proper shape. Maybe not just like, but that metal on metal sound was not one she experienced often.

No no. It was more like the time Uncle Sano and found cousin Jiro sleeping in the hay pile and woke him up by ringing a pot with her best ladle. It had almost been worth the ruined ladle to see the way Jiro sprang out of the hay like it was burning.

Hm. Then again perhaps it was more like. . .

A dead body in the road.

The first thing she did was check to make sure the body was actually dead. Satisfied that this unlucky traveler was still breathing, albeit shallowly, she then sprinted for the house. With seven minutes to get home, three to get Sano, and probably another seven back here then that meant that he would just have to keep breathing for about a half hour more at least.

She looked at the puddle of blood around his body and heard his strange murmuring.

Maybe she could cut the run to six minutes.

Her wet hair streamed behind her and her cheeks were glowing a bright apple red as she rounded the turn into the house yelling with what she had left in her lungs for Sano.

"Body! Road! Bandits! HELP!" Sano, who was ready for actions before questions, followed Kaoru as she took off in the direction she came from. He easily caught up with the already exhausted but still running girl, and she led him to the man she had found.

Amazingly, the man was still alive, and together they picked him up and moved him back to the house. The fact that he survived that trip as well shocked Sano, who had seen how much blood he had been lying in. If only he could use his magic. . . but that was impossible because then the magician, that bastard, would hone in on them faster than anything and his precious Kaoru would be in danger just as much as this poor sucker here.

Since when had there been bandits in the forest?

"Uncle! Go get some water, I'll go sterilize my sewing needle. Some of these look like they need stitches, and we don't have time to wait for the doctor." Sano knew sword wounds like this weren't often the way bandits handled things. A quick knock to the head or a stab to the throat, maybe, but not random cuts on the legs or abdomen. Who was this man and how had he just appeared out of nowhere?

But Sano had no more time for suspicion as Kaoru swallowed her nervousness and sewed together and bound the wounds with sheets she ripped from her bed. She wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyway. Not while this man was still in danger. Except for his fine cloak, the rest of his clothing was ripped too much to be useful so she threw it outside in a pile as soon as she was satisfied with her patient's even breathing. Out of the intimidating clothing he simply looked very young and unlike the burly farm boys Kaoru had known. Maybe he was from the city. The thought set her heart racing in a way different from the danger the man was in. Guiltily, she shoved the curiosity back.

"I'll just throw out the shirt, but I think I may be able to save the pants. Watch him for me." Kaoru picked up the clothes, smelling blood on them and swallowing heavily.

After she exited, Sano stared at the boyish face and tried to place why someone with a shock of white hair would look so young. Something nagged at his memory.

"Sister. . ." the man called out in his sleep. "Tomoe. . ."

Oh crap.

Carefully, Sano approached the bed and opened up the boy's eye since he was fairly insensible at the moment anyway.

"Don't be what I think you are. . ." he looked into the iris and cringed. "Damn." It was just as he'd feared, and he knew Aoshi was going to give him an earful when he got home. Some stray Kaoru had saved. It was like saving a little dog and finding out it was really a plague bearing rat.

She came in to see Sano still leaning over the prone form of her patient. "How is he doing?" Kaoru sat down next to the bed and took the stranger's hand in her own, causing Sano to swallow heavily.

Trying hard to hide his disappointment at the statement, Sano answered. "I think he'll pull through thanks to you."

***

An hour later, Aoshi and Jiro came home, and all hell broke loose.

The bag of potatoes fell from Aoshi's nerveless fingers. Unlike Sano, he knew this man on sight. Jiro didn't take long to also realize the very man that had been hunting them actively for nearly two decades was now laying down in Kaoru's bed, with bloody bandages wrapped around him and a concerned Kaoru holding his hand and looking down fondly _(fondly?!)_ at him.

"Jiro, go in and find out what happened from Kaoru. Sano, you and I are going to have a little chat outside about the proper way to treat houseguests. . . ."

Once they were a good distance into the orchard that buzzed with the summer night noises and was stirred by the occasional breeze, Aoshi whispered furtively in an angry tone.

"Tell me that he is on his death bed and you put him there."

"Well, actually, ummmmm. You see, Kaoru kind of found him half dead on the road and we sort of, er, saved him?" Sano tried to laugh as if it were really very amusing.

"And what part of him dying on the road like an animal was a bad thing?"

"Listen, are you going to say no to her? I'm not going to be the one to go and kill her precious patient in cold blood. What sort of explanation would we give her? You know she'd think I was just making up another story. Dark magicians? Curses? Right." Sano's voice rose in anger and Aoshi shushed him. "There are only six days left."

This gave Aoshi a moment of pause, but he continued on. "We cannot leave a threat like that in this house. I will kill him myself and you all can tell Kaoru whatever you want."

"Do you want to face her as a murderer?"

Aoshi fumed in place a moment. "I suppose he doesn't know, does he? Until we know more I suppose he can stay his sentence. But only for her sake. I don't want my Kaoru thinking me a butcher."

With a raised eyebrow, Sano smirked at his friend. "Your Kaoru?"

The solemn man briskly brushed past Sano and made his way into the house. It wouldn't due to tease him about it, for one thing they all felt that way about Kaoru and frankly it was going to be the most wrenching tear on his heart to give her back to her waiting parents. For another thing, Aoshi simply never rose to the bait.

The activity that he found upon reentering the house seemed normal and yet strained. Jiro and Aoshi were unpacking the supplies they had bought and soon each would go to sleep to recover after a busy a day. Sano too had actually done a fair amount and would like the chance to sleep, but with their mortal enemy in the house he wasn't sure if any of them would actually manage more than an hour of restless tossing. Kaoru wouldn't stand for them waiting with her; she'd just worry that much more about them as well as about that worthless sorcerer whose hand she petted with concern at that very moment. That might even lead to questions, but they again didn't want to give her any answers.

***

Kaoru, aloof from the tense emotions of her uncles and cousin, was lost in contemplating this new man who had appeared in her life. She heard the noises of the house being shut down for the night, and after each man bid her good night in turn she was soon left alone with her patient.

There was no reason to worry about fever because his body was cold as ice. She would have thought him dead except that he still breathed and that tended to indicate the process of life was continuing. The prospect of watching him breathe all night was not an exciting one, so instead she searched through his things which she had so casually hung up outside. She told herself it was for signs of who he might be when honestly she just wanted to search through his things in general.

In addition to a dagger with a shine of some oily fluid on it she saw small vials of various sizes and colors and a small mirror. Nothing else. No food? He even had some money in a pouch on his belt, which was confusing as she assumed he was attacked by bandits. Belatedly she remembered a sword, but she could get one of her uncles to pick that up tomorrow if it was still there.

Her gaze wandered back over to his face. He really was quite handsome.

That was a bad direction for her thoughts to go. A man like this probably had a wife or a lady waiting for him somewhere just like every other man his age seemed to. But it was nice to just let herself wonder what it might be like if someone as pleasing to look at as he was actually gave her the time of day, and could stand up to her formidable uncles. However, she saw these passing fancies for the dreams they were.

"Sister. . ." his mumbles touched something in her heart. He was pleading for the hand of one that he wouldn't find here. Then he started to shiver.

How was he so very cold? He had on every spare blanket in the house. The only other option would be just to. . .

She wouldn't have even considered that if he were not so attractive.

Then again, she wanted to, and he needed it, and what could it hurt? She was keeping all her clothes on after all. It only took a moment to situate herself by his side and wrap her arm over a strip of undamaged skin. His body was like a heat sink, keeping her from sweating beneath all the covers on them, but slowly he seemed to normalize to a better body temperature and she was grateful. It had been an emotional day, and it was so nice to just fall asleep next to someone. This reminded her of those nights when she crawled in with Uncle Aoshi during all those years of terrible nightmares when she was just a small child. . . where shattering windows and long corridors filled with doors haunted her mind's eye.

But there was something different about sleeping next to this man. Rather than examine it, she allowed his steady breathing to lull her to a sound slumber.

***

Enishi woke, wondering where he was because it certainly wasn't hell. The soft form beside him almost seemed to him to be Tomoe and his heart leapt only to be crushed down as he saw the face was too young to be his beloved sister.

Her hair was too glossy, with a blue tint to it, and her lips were not a pale purple but a blush of coral. The hint of color in her face gave away her increased temperature and made her seem healthier than Tomoe ever had been, but they both had a delicacy about them.

More importantly, to Enishi's groggy mind, he noticed how he felt like his skin was on fire everywhere she touched him. Tomoe had been like a winter night, but this girl felt to him like a summer day, bursting with youth and love and beauty. He wanted to crush it as much as he craved to possess it. It was a strange sensation to be assaulted with so suddenly. He had no defense against it. The only things he had craved before were a rare spell book or an unusual item of the arcane or profane.

He had never wanted anything quite as much as he wanted this girl, and here she was in his arms. Once he lifted his arm, jets of pain shot through his recently sewn wounds and he felt blood well from his bicep. Magic would heal this in time, but he could let it wait until tomorrow. Enishi could acquire this exotic little creature once he had taken care of his other mission.

If he had been familiar with the concept he might have said that it was love at first sight, but for Enishi the concept of love was not this benign; pleasure always came with a catch.

Once he was less groggy he would be able to think things out more thoroughly.

First, he had to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"I can't thank you enough for taking me in. I was accosted so suddenly by this thief, all I remember is pulling my sword and then it's all just a blank. I was sure I was going to die." Enishi shoved some overly salted eggs and burnt toast into his mouth and tried not to grimace. Apparently, his angel from the night before was not exactly a wiz in the kitchen.

"You were lucky Kaoru found you when she did, especially since she isn't supposed to go that far into the forest alone." Jiro tried to make conversation. Aoshi was out in the orchards trying to keep himself from doing something drastic to their visitor, while Sano was in the kitchen with Kaoru and stealing food as she cooked.

Enishi chatted some more with this smiling youth, but although he smiled in return he couldn't match the cheerful tones of the boy. Acting the part of an honest and nice person was not something that the fearsome dark magician had ever been obliged to do. He was already getting tired of it. What he needed was to be left alone for an hour or two so that he could heal himself enough to be functional.

Then he was going to find Kenshin Himura, get the location of the princess, carry out his plan, and then once the princess was dead then he was going to slowly kill that little Manslayer and his father both in the most painful way possible. He would start with the eyelids. . .

"Jiro! Come get Sano away from the bacon! No one will get any at this rate! Our patient needs rest, not company while he's in that condition."

Enishi wondered if the little wench was reading his mind. Jiro waved a goodbye and sauntered off, but inside his heart he was reluctant to leave the invalid. From the malice that practically poured off of the sorcerer's body he knew that leaving him alone was the last thing they should do, and he turned to Sano in the kitchen as soon as he felt the beginnings of a spell being worked. It had been a long time since they had felt magic, and their senses were only more acute for its workings. Jiro even sneezed.

This magic did not have its origins in anything they knew how to do. The dark magician's magic felt like nails scratched down the chalkboard of their senses. It was a travesty and any of them would have given anything to rush in with their wands and put an end to this usurper's presence.

"Look, I know my cooking isn't exactly the best, but you two don't have to make those faces. Think of how much worse it was when I was first starting out."

Sano shoved the terrible feeling into the back of his mind. "Hey kiddo, I'm just giving you a bad time. It's just fine. I know you're trying hard, especially to impress our houseguest. . ."

He had just meant to tease her, but her blush alarmed the large man. "Stupid rooster head. Why would I want to impress anyone with cooking like this?"

Aoshi ran in, eyes blazing, first examining Kaoru for any signs of ill effects and then dashing out of the kitchen again. No doubt he had felt it too and had thought something was wrong. They had to try to seem as normal as possible. As soon as it became apparent that he had no idea he was in the company of the person he sought, they had silently assented to try to be as typical a farm family as they could be. Kaoru, who was used to their odd comments and eccentricities, was already beginning to see the unnatural flavor their actions held. Thankfully, she was staying silent so far.

"Jiro, do you think you could go with me to try to get the sword I left on the road yesterday. I didn't think to bring it when we carried the stranger here. It would be a shame for him to loose anything so carelessly after all of this."

He and Sano exchanged another pregnant glance. "Of course I will."

"I mean right now."

"Do we have to?" Another glance.

"Yes." This was almost a growl.

Kaoru smiled fiercely as she led her cousin down the path towards the woods and away from their carefully planted orchards. They got about halfway there when she pounced.

"So, mind telling me what all of that was about?"

"All of what?"

"Those. . . looks. The way you all treat that poor man like he was some sort of wounded animal rather than a hapless traveler. And of course you aren't letting me in on why. I've never known you all to be so prickly."

Jiro wondered how much he should say. "It's complicated. He's a stranger, and you are rather too trusting, Kaoru, you must admit. . ."

"Pshaw! I have yet to be disappointed. I like this man. He has been nothing but nice to me, though I admit we've only exchanged a few words. And I suppose I don't even know his name yet. And for someone attacked by bandits I don't know why he had all his stuff. . . but there must be a reasonable explanation. You all are just being overprotective as always. Admit it, if it was a woman you all would never have started acting like this."

That was true enough, but not for the reasons she thought it was for. Jiro decided not to comment. They picked up the sword and Kaoru also found some tinted glasses which they carried back in a silent procession on the way home. Kaoru was silent because she was worried about her patient's condition, whereas Jiro was wondering exactly what did happen to the sorcerer on his way through these lands. It wasn't every day that a random person got the drop on someone so powerful. Some wandering hero perhaps? Those happened every so often, but these days legends had a hard time of it.

No one believed in magic anymore.

And that's why the magician could do anything he wanted whereas he, Sano, and Aoshi were nearly crippled. It was truly unfair. Maybe it was time for the old days to be put to rest, and Jiro knew just where he wanted to start—by burying a sword in the dark magician's chest. It clanked with a sort of finality slung across his shoulder. Yes, he would do anything he had to so Kaoru, who was like a little sister to him, could live.

***

"Is it. . . Satoshi?"

"Try again!"

"Hmmmm." Kaoru bit her bottom lip in intense concentration. From her curled position on the porch she rocked back and then forwards as if it helped job her memory. "Yuya maybe? Or Kyo?"

"Not even close." Enishi pushed his glasses up further onto his nose to escape the glaring sunshine. Even though he could adjust to the light, it took too long and he preferred the gentleness of darkness. It was a miracle his glasses were intact but for a crack running along the edge of the left lens.

Kaoru pouted, sticking out the lip she had been chewing on moments before. "Can't you just tell me your name?"

"What will you give me in return? You already gave away your own name."

"Look around you, I have very little to give." Enishi actually took the time to examine the space around him. There were trees on either side of the house, leading off in either direction as far as he could see. The fruit on the trees was varied by each row, and the fruit itself was still ripening. As for the front yard, it simply contained a little vegetable garden and some flowers. Whereas he had always thought of people who lived like this with scorn, Kaoru's beaming face almost gave it a sort of simplistic nobility. It was true; she didn't have much to give.

Then Enishi's mouth curled into a sadistic smile. He knew what he wanted.

"Then I demand a kiss."

Kaoru colored and shrunk into herself, looking from side to side as if to check for one of her male family members. Her paranoia was warranted, for at least one of them walked by every ten minutes or so and she was well aware they were checking up on her. On an impulse, she decided to go with her gut and be daring.

"Ok." She stood and walked over to where Enishi had been positioned on a chair, bundled in the blanket Kaoru insisted he remain in due to his continued cold body temperature.

With charming innocence, she leaned forward and tried to give him a peck on the cheek but was foiled as Enishi turned his head suddenly and caught her lips with his own. It only lasted a moment, and as chaste as it was it still managed to leave them both flustered.

"Enishi." He whispered against her lips that still had yet to draw away. "My name is Enishi." It had been so long since he spoke it aloud, he was afraid for a moment he had given her the wrong name. He reassured himself. Of course that was his name; the one Tomoe had given to him.

Kaoru straightened up again, stiff and quite startled at the intensity of emotion she had experienced. "I like it. It's very elegant." When she said his name this time he got a chill that made him want to shed his useless blanket and hold her to him. "Enishi."

"Kaaaoooooooooruuuuuuuuuu!" Yahiko came barreling down the path, Tae at his heels. They both looked flushed and excited. When Yahiko got close enough to get a good look at the man on the porch, he came to a full stop and seemed struck oddly silent. Tae came at a slower pace and greeted Enishi politely; he merely inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Tae, not at all off put by the stranger's brisk dismissal, turned to Kaoru and told her what happened to Yahiko yesterday (trying to get to the point without what she considered to be Yahiko's "embellishments"). Yahiko, instead of adding things, simply stared at Enishi with eyes like dinner plates making him look even younger than his twelve years.

Kaoru, when she heard about this sudden windfall, was so happy for her friend that tears came to her eyes. They embraced and laughed, but soon stopped as they finally noticed Yahiko's sudden bout of paralysis. Tae asked him what was wrong, in her usual soft spoken matter. Yahiko just pointed at Enishi and stammered.

"Enishi, were you one of those men yesterday?" Kaoru's eyes searched his but were blocked by the glasses. Enishi just nodded.

This time, Tae walked right up and curtseyed in front of him. "My family thanks you for your generosity, sir."

He waved her away. "Think nothing of it. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I need to go back inside." Expressions of gratitude happened to him very rarely and he was not comfortable with them. Not willing to admit to the discomfort, instead he got irritated. As Kaoru helped him inside (for even much recovered, he was still in bad condition) Enishi saw Aoshi come round the side of the house and give him a withering glance before speaking to Tae and the slowly unfreezing Yahiko.

"Was it that other man who did this to you?" Kaoru spoke softly as she helped him back into bed. "Or is that a bad question to ask?"

"Yes, he did this to me." Aching and irritated, Enishi spoke before he thought. "His only mistake was leaving me alive. I won't be caught unaware again."

She was thoughtful a moment, searching for the right way to say it. In the end she just blurted it out. "Why did you lie to us?" Kaoru turned away from him. "About the bandits, I mean."

Enishi grew angry. He didn't owe any country girl or her family an explanation, and he had never been accountable for anything he had ever done or said to another person. Oddly, even as he was annoyed he felt compelled to tell her about everything. Everything. As if that would bleed the poison from his heart and ease his burden.

"He had something I desperately needed, a matter of life and death actually, but if I got you involved it would only endanger you. I don't want any more people in the know than need to be." That was as much of the truth as he wanted to say. The life and death part he liked especially.

"Is there any way I can help you?" She clasped his hand in hers and looked him in the eyes. He felt like he was drowning.

Why? He had just told her it would endanger her. He had not even given her any details, and still she was offering her help to him. Enishi had spent enough time around people to guess at their motives, but he didn't know what motivated her. The money he had offered to her before for taking care of him, she had refused. There was no way she knew how powerful he was. . . so what did she want? Why did she offer herself so readily?

With strength he shouldn't have had, he pulled Kaoru in towards his face drawing in their clasped hands like fishing line. "Just being you is help enough." This kiss was less chaste, filled with the longing that was smothering his urgency to continue his vengeance. Kaoru's hands shook but she didn't pull away as she slowly softened to this assault. Taking the opportunity while he still had it, Enishi wound a hand into Kaoru's thick hair and pushed her crushingly against his mouth while his tongue pushed past lips and teeth to taste her.

After a moment of bliss the two broke apart. Kaoru's hand flew to her lips and she ran out the door, heedless of direction or destination. The door slammed shut behind her. Enishi simply cursed. He hadn't wanted to spook her, but she was so hard to resist with those tempting ripe lips and the sweet words which poured from them. . .

Ouch.

His body still hurt and he could tell that he had reopened at least one wound with that little show of activity. The fact was he was wasting time when what he really needed was to set up something proper. It would have been nice to take care of things earlier, but he always had a backup plan and his had been lying in wait for quite some time now. After that little encounter with Kenshin, old Goro probably had the princess removed right away. By now she was probably shaking in her glass slippers, or whatever it was princesses wore, thinking about how close she had come to death.

The sorcerer was no fool, he knew very well about the softening of the curse. The fairies at the ill fated christening may have alleviated the worst of Tomoe's efforts, but a well placed dagger in a sleeping heart would end a life as well as if it were awake. If he was lucky, she'd even still be a virgin. The blood of a virgin was at a premium these days and it would be a shame to waste it when there were so many lovely rituals he could use it for.

Since he was thinking of all of this. . . he picked the small hand mirror from his things and waved over it three times with his palm.

"Himura." He said clearly into it as the reflective surface became milky. It didn't take long for the nervous face of Lord Himura to form itself, maybe a few minutes.

"Your Excellency. What a surprise. . ."

"I'll bet it is. You think your son could do away with me so easily? You're lucky I'm feeling forgiving or else I would have struck you both down with a plague. Do you know why I didn't?" Enishi's voice was falsely sweet as he spoke in low tones so as not to be heard by anyone outside of the room.

Wisely, Himura stayed silent.

"You can still be of use to me. I imagine by this time you have been cut off from all supply lines and are effectively considered a traitor of the realm. . ."

"How did you know?" Himura's eyes were bugged in shock and worry.

It was no great leap to think that the goody goody Kenshin informed his king first off of the battle with the feared dark magician so close to the location of Goro's precious daughter as well as his father's suspicious actions.

"Look, so long as you can go through with your part in the emergency plan then I will still avail my legions to your use. I'd assume you need them now more then ever. Can you do this simple task?" He rubbed the bridge of his nose after removing his glasses.

Himura seemed to jump and fidget, eyes rolling. "I can do it, Your Excellency, nothing will stop me."

Enishi smiled, his blue-green eyes glowing under the force of his anticipation. "Remember, her birthday is only five days away. Do not disappoint me, or you will be the first to feel my displeasure." He cut the connection before Himura could snivel any more.

It was terrible that he had to rely on help such as that to finish what he had started, but it was so difficult to find good help. Goro was pickier about his castle staff and retainers than Enishi had ever counted on. It took years to put all the pieces in place, and quite a lot of luck. The plan essentially would run on its own. Once it was all over, he just had to get into the castle and let his dagger bite at that silly princess' throat and then. . .

What then? He wasn't sure.

"You'll smile for me again, dear sister." But all he could picture in his mind was Kaoru with eyes wide and lips full from the kiss they shared.

***

She was sitting in her thinking spot, poking at the ground in a lackluster series of jabs with the branch she had broken from an apple tree. At first she had been rather confused and even a little pleased at the liberties their guest had taken, but the more she thought about what he did the less she liked it. Kaoru didn't blame Enishi, she blamed herself for allowing it to happen and then acting like a child after it finished. Running from any situation was not like her at all.

It had just been too real, she decided, filling in the little hole she had been working into the earth at her feet by pushing loose dirt around. Most of her dreams had been somewhat rosy and a little too much like one of Sano's stories.

She would be wandering through the forest and meet a man on a tall white horse. He would be lost and she would tell him how to get out, but first she would invite him back to have dinner with her family (who would love him naturally). Then, after coming back every day for weeks to visit her, they would realize they were in love and. . .

It was just stupid to think that way. Sano's stories must have corrupted her mind. Already, the faceless knight was being replaced by a man with turquoise eyes and wild white hair. Romance was well and good, but he didn't seem like the kind of man who bought into that sort of behavior. Frankly, Kaoru thought that if she did come across someone as romantic as the man she had dreamed up, she would be cynical of the sappiness of it all. Enishi had filled the waiting spot in her expectations a little too well. What was there left for her to do but hope that he might even feel a little bit of the same way about her? This whole affection business seemed like it was going to be so wonderful, but now that she had some it just seemed embarrassing and awkward.

She didn't want to call it love just yet. She wasn't sure it was love. Somehow pining after someone you love seemed worse than pining after someone you had affection for. It was a fine distinction, but she allowed that much of an emotional buffer for protection.

Tae found her friend sulkily torturing the tree roots. Her uncles had continued to question Yahiko intensely for particulars of his adventure yesterday, and they hadn't seemed to notice Kaoru's flight. Tae knew she wouldn't be missed and slipped off with a quick excuse. Kaoru looked more ill at ease than Tae had seen her in quite some time. Not since Kaoru had seen Aoshi kill a chicken for dinner, and had been so traumatized by it that she refused to let them eat anything she had named ever again. Poor Henny McCluck.

"You don't look too good."

"Thanks a lot." Kaoru was sarcastic. That was good, it meant she wasn't in too bad of a state.

"Really, when was the last time you felt the need to run away? If it's something you can't tell me I totally under—"

"Hekissedme." It was all one word, breathed out in a sigh. Tae beamed at her friend once she translated it all out.

"Your guest?" She sat down across from Kaoru and took the stick from her grasp. "The handsome, young, rich one?"

Kaoru made a face. "Don't say it that way, Tae. It makes me feel like such a schemer. I wouldn't care if he didn't have a thing."

"But obviously being young and handsome are perks." Kaoru was beginning to huff. "I'm just teasing you. Really, Kaoru, sometimes I think you have no sense of humor. Do you know anything about him besides the obvious?"

With an even deeper sigh than before Kaoru practically sunk into the ground. "No. I don't know anything. In fact, everything he's told me has been highly suspicious. But I just can shake the feeling in my gut that I can trust him. You know how I get. I trust my instincts on that sort of thing."

"And you haven't been wrong yet so far as I know." Tae bent the supple branch as she sat, thinking and worrying about the friend in front of her. "But your uncles and cousin don't seem to be very fond of him, though I could be wrong. . ."

"Actually, you just hit the nail on the head. That does worry me. No man has made it through their gauntlet yet, and if Enishi is just playing around with me then he might as well just give up and save himself the trouble."

Tae stood quickly, breaking the stick on the way up. "Do you like this man?" Kaoru nodded in wonder at this aggressive incarnation of her normally docile friend. "Then it doesn't matter what your uncles think. You have to fight for him, and I know how well the Kaoru I know can fight."

Now laughing and feeling more like her usual self, brooding aside for the moment, Kaoru too stood and brushed herself off. "That's right! If I like him then I should just go for it. If he backs down, then he didn't deserve me anyway and my uncles were right. If he didn't like me in the first place, then I'll let my uncles kick him out of here as soon as he's healthy enough to walk." Kaoru grabbed half of the broken stick from Tae. "Thanks Tae. Sulking doesn't suit me, does it?"

They linked arms and made their way back towards the house.

"So," Tae said with a surreptitious element to her tone. "How was this kiss?" Kaoru's highly colored cheeks simply sent her friend into gales of laughter.

***

Two days until that princess' birthday, and still Enishi had failed to locate her. It would have made him mad enough to run off and destroy something in a blaze of energy if he hadn't been so very tired from just trying to get his body working like it used to again. He was barely sleeping so that he could use the night to heal his body magically, which left him fatigued during the day from the mental stress. After days of this he was able to exercise lightly without opening up his wounds again and the strength in his muscles was as pleasing as his constant headache was awful. To be so weak in front of witnesses was just that added bit of embarrassment that might have set him off on a murderous rampage but for the presence of Kaoru. . .

She was his balm of Gilead. Not in the literal sense, of course, though that would have been very convenient. What Kaoru gave him was attention and reassurance as every day he got healthier. He had toned down his attentions to her, content to just discuss with her whatever she brought up in those long hours she spent doing laundry, or baking bread, or sewing clothes while Enishi was stationed wrapped up in his usual blanket on a chair. He had tried to convince her that he was just naturally colder than most people, but she refused to listen to him. She was stubborn like that, and so long as she personally wrapped him up in the blanket then he wouldn't complain. Enishi had even managed to sneak a few surreptitious hugs that way.

The first thing he learned from talking with her was that they agreed on nearly nothing when it came to people, and the world. He blamed it on her upbringing.

Whenever she talked about the inherent goodness and nobility of people, he would laugh at her and say she was simply far too sheltered. Kaoru said that maybe he just knew the wrong people. How did he know that the ones he talked to were the majority? She knew four good people for every single rotten one. Enishi told her those weren't very good odds; she simply said that it was good enough for her.

When she said it, with a wave of a soapy hand and fire behind her eyes, it was almost enough to make him believe it. Maybe there was goodness in others he couldn't see. Maybe it was just his evil blotting out any chance they had to be good. No matter what she said, he knew well enough that he was as rotten as any other villain she had met if not more so. Hell, his life was devoted to the killing of a girl he had never really met and who probably didn't deserve her fate.

But it was still her fate. His sister could not be wrong. The princess would die for the sins of her class, and to pay for every common person who had suffered for the power plays of the nobility. Common people, like Kaoru and her family, who just worked for a living and didn't try to kill or dominate except over the bugs that attacked their plants. It wasn't the life he wanted, but at least he had gained a measure of respect for this lifestyle on the whole. Everyone had a place in the system.

Enishi thought those things now and actually believed them, but they contained the distinctive touch of Kaoru as well. She had a lot to say about farming and farm communities, but she was surprisingly well learned for a commoner. The night before last, when he had sat with the rest of her family at dinner, he had witnessed some of the answer to that. At first the table had been silent and tense, but after a while Kaoru had coaxed her two uncles into a debate on the benefits and downfalls of the city comparative to the country. She and her cousin had added in bits as the arguments collided and changed. The one called Aoshi obviously did not like cities, feeling the simply encouraged a concentration of everything bad about a society whereas the one called Sano led the pro argument for cities as an inevitable end to progress. Despite himself, Enishi was impressed.

It was coming up more and more, these mentions of the city, and Kaoru often would stare off into space when spoke about her wish to visit the city for her birthday. Enishi wanted to give that to her. He wanted to take her to the beautiful foreign cities beyond the mountains that isolated this kingdom, and show her the tropical waters that matched his eyes or the dark wintry waters to the north that resembled her hair. He recalled those icy waters and how they flowed with great blocks of ice for miles. Instead of telling her this, he simply let her talk. This country life was obviously something that she enjoyed but which would not always contain her ambitions.

The only questions Enishi asked were the occasional ones about a rich girl in the neighborhood. Someone out of place maybe, who had arrived here suddenly about twenty years ago. Neither Kaoru nor her uncles seemed to have any information. Enishi was starting to think that the cunning Wolf of a king had fed that sappy Kenshin the wrong information. He wouldn't put it past old Goro. The man was strong enough to hold the country together this long without too much struggle, so Enishi had to give him a fair amount of credit. Admiration was not enough to keep the magician from killing the king's daughter, but it wasn't anything personal really so much as a matter of duty.

***

"I'm going!" Kaoru burst into the bedroom, holding Enishi's nearly patched up pants. He had a bunch just like them, but he wasn't going to stop her from her stubborn wish to fix his. It would be nice to be back in his own clothes and out of the worn ones he was borrowing from her highly displeased uncles and cousin. He carefully set down the book he had been perusing.

"Going where?"

"To the city! Uncle Aoshi just told me that they talked it over and they'll let me go, but they all get to escort me there and I have to promise not to run off or do anything stupid."

Enishi frowned. This sounded like activity that excluded him, and he was afraid that once her uncles had gotten Kaoru out of his sight he'd never be able to find her again. It was an unreasonable thing to think, but then his emotions had been clouding just about all his thoughts lately.

"The capital is at least four days on a fast horse. . ."

Kaoru laughed. "The capital? I can only dream of that. No, I'm going to the port to the south. They said there should be enough adventure there to last me a lifetime. We'll see about that, though." She flopped onto the bottom of the bed, narrowly missing his feet. "I can't believe it. I thought for sure they were going to say no."

"I'll stop imposing on you all and finish the business I came here for then."

"Will I see you again?" She sat up, looking to the side as if she were embarrassed to even ask the question.

Enishi smiled, it was reassuring to know that he wasn't the only one troubled by their separation. Maybe this time away was for the best. He would have a room prepared in the Western Spire for her. Something tasteful. Then he could come back and take her away, just as he had been picturing in his mind for the past few days. The business with the princess would be resolved, and suddenly a life with Kaoru seemed to stretch in front of him to fill in the void of his imagination. It was only right. They fit one another in a way that was complementary as it was opposite.

"I'll always come for you." Enishi took her hand in his, feeling the bonds of his words promise just as much as he was willing to give as his fingers stroked hers slowly and deliberately. "That is, if you want me to come for you."

Kaoru didn't look back to check for anyone listening. There was no point. She was honest enough about her feelings to not be ashamed of them and even if her uncles heard she wouldn't take it back.

"I love you Enishi. I'll wait for you as long as it takes."

They leaned in to kiss once, briefly, for the first time since the day she had run from the room. Kaoru brushed away a tear from her eye, hoping Enishi hadn't seen it. There was just too much happiness for her to contain herself. Never had she counted on being this lucky in her lifetime.

Enishi felt his heart beat faster than normal and an unusual heady drunk feeling make the world seem coated with a gloss. Colors were brighter, sounds were louder, and he for a second he even forgot where he was or what he was doing. This could be love. . . he finally acknowledged to himself. And no one can take this from me.

Outside of the room there was no movement and only the sound of Jiro's uneven breathing. Holding up a pile of wood with straining muscles, he tried not to let his presence be known. He had watched Kaoru run in to Enishi's room and had eavesdropped as Aoshi had advised whenever they noted them being alone together. Up until today the topic of conversation had been largely benign. The tears that burned behind Jiro's eyes were unstoppable. Despite their best efforts to save Kaoru from Enishi's plots, still he had managed to sign her death warrant through chance and blunder. Kaoru could not be saved by love if her love was for a man who wanted her dead.

They had failed her. Now all that was left was to make sure Enishi could not get to their charge at any cost. Even if she remained sleeping for a thousand years, there was always the chance that maybe there was someone else out there for her. They had to have faith.

Jiro inched away to go tell the other two fairies about this new development, but still his eyes and heart burned in anguish.

Their little Kaoru. She had grown up much too fast.


	4. Chapter 4

One day.

Twenty four hours.

Where was the princess?

He had felt the magic, but after the initial blip of awareness it had been snuffed out once again. She had to be here.

Enishi had left the picturesque orchards and the cozy farmhouse to wander into the forest before using a flare of magic to propel himself into the capital where he owned a rather stately house. There was no staff and the whole place was covered in dust and stuffy from lack of air circulation, but he had only bought the place a few years ago when he was finalizing his backup plan. At least with all the curtains drawn it had a darkness he could relax in, but something about it filled him with loneliness.

A week without seeing Kaoru. He only needed to make it one week and then her trip to the city would be done. By then he should be properly ready to whisk her away. Maybe he would bring her here first so as not to scare her with the Western Spire and its perpetual night.

Self consciously, he looked around at the cracked and dusty furniture and the cobwebs that lined the ceiling. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to hire some staff. Just for while they were here of course. It wouldn't take long to show her around the city. . .

The knock at the back door interrupted his disturbingly domestic thoughts and he moved himself to answer the door with a grumble. With a large and conspicuous hat as well as a large black cape, Enishi took in the crouched form of Lord Himura. Didn't this man even understand how to hide himself in a crowd? Enishi wanted to groan with his disgust at the incompetence of his minion. If only any other lord's son had been betrothed to that infernal princess then he wouldn't have had to deal with such sub-par villains.

"May I come in, Your Excellency?" Himura looked nervous, standing there fingering his black cape, florid face sweating.

"I suppose." Enishi backed away into the darkness and Himura followed with only slight hesitation at the threshold. "I suppose you'd like some light too." With a wave of his hand every candle and lamp in the house burst into guttering flame which settled down and cast shadows in the rickety state of the interior. In his mind Enishi settled that he would hire people right away to clean up this mess.

Himura shed his heavy cloak and hat, but was soon shivering anyway. Did the sorcerer know no summer? He seemed to carry winter everywhere. . .

"Why did you risk everything to come see me? I assume you made the arrangements already."

"Of course I did, Your Excellency. My son thinks the ring I gave to him is indeed my late wife's and he will present it to her when he meets her after the king and queen receive her. It will be tonight because he is even set up to be her bodyguard. . ." Himura looked a little worried. "He will not be a problem this time, will he, Your Excellency?"

Enishi sneered at the little man. "That is not your concern. You have fulfilled your part of the bargain and once the deed is done, only then will you receive your reward. At this point the only way you could be of service is if you can tell me where the princess is now."

The lord twisted his face into a look of regret and confusion. "Sorry, Your Excellency, but no one knows where she is. Probably not even the king and queen. They await her arrival in a few hours."

With a wave of his hand and a sharp dismissal, Lord Himura made his hasty exit. Enishi knew that she had to be here. Something was amiss with the entire situation. He wished he knew why his apprehension was so strong, but every nerve seemed to demand he look into this more closely.

"Hellfire!" He cursed into the darkness. "Nothing will go wrong tonight!" Enishi clenched his hands to extinguish the lights even as he would crush that princess. It was only a matter of waiting now. Everything would happen after sunset. Night was the best time for evil deeds.

"Soon, sister. . . soon."

***

A few hours earlier, Kaoru was waving her goodbyes to Enishi as he moved down the road. Every so often he would turn back and wave again, and every time he did Sano would squeeze her shoulder ever so slightly. Kaoru had a feeling that her uncles knew of her feelings for the man. Well, she would defy even them for her love. She only hoped they would forgive her. The four of them walked back into the house and sat down amid a mess of clothes thrown about and items knocked over from the rush of the past day. Kaoru fixed them all a small midday snack and offered them some juice when it seemed as if no one had any appetite at all for the food.

"We had better finish packing. All I need to do is make some food for the trip down to. . . why are you all looking so grim?"

Aoshi, Sano, and Jiro sat in a half circle around Kaoru with various expressions, but she knew them well enough to sense what they were all really feeling.

"C'mon you guys. Just a day left, and then I'll be eighteen. Nothing wrong with that right? You look like you just found out the entire orchard had been eaten by aphids or something." They looked at one another and then back at Kaoru. "Don't tell me we won't be able to go to the city. You promised!" With her animated face already fluidly moving from a laugh into something more like her stubborn anger, the men finally forced the words to come from their throats.

Aoshi tried to talk first but Sano interrupted him.

"It's like this, Jouchan, we've all got to go to the capital. Today. And you won't need any of this stuff here. Not unless you really want to take a few trinkets to remember this place by. . ."

Aoshi finally got his chance to speak after a harsh look at Sano. "A long time ago, when you came to us Kaoru, it was not because your parents were dead. They are very much alive and now it is time you went back to them."

This time Jiro spoke, the smile gone from his face for once. "I'm not your cousin, Kaoru. Sano and Aoshi are not your uncles. You are like family to us, but it would be impossible for you to be a blood relative."

"Wait a minute." Kaoru put up her hands as if she could physically halt these words that were making her comfortable world spin out of control. "What? My parents are alive? And why would you take me in if you weren't related to me? None of this makes sense."

Running a hand through his hair, Aoshi stood. "When you were born there were complications, and it was decided that we would be the best people to take care of you. I wouldn't have had it any other way. These past eighteen years have been the best I've spent in over two centuries."

"Didn't you even wonder why I never seemed to get any older Kaoru?" Jiro asked gently. "We aren't even human. We're special. You are human, but you are also special. The story of the baby cursed at her christening. . . that was you Kaoru. You're the lost princess."

It was as if they had struck her, and the same nauseated feeling gripped them all. "No." Kaoru rejected this information outright. "It isn't true." She looked to Sano for encouragement. "Those were just stories, Uncle Sano. . . weren't they? There's no such thing as magic, or real curses."

Sano couldn't meet her eyes. "Sorry kiddo."

"Then that would make you. . ." She wanted to run from the house. She wanted someone to jump out from behind a doorway and yell 'surprise' as if this were all part of some birthday gag. But her family had never lied to her in her life. Her 'family'. The quotes inserted themselves mentally and now that they were there she felt very small and alone, as if she had only just realized she had been living with strangers for her whole life.

"We wanted to protect you from everything. Your parents and we made a deal. We, the fairies who were present at your christening, would take care of you until you turned eighteen and the curse had been lifted. You have always faced very real danger, and more so today than any day before." Aoshi's words were firm. He had always been the one to discipline her when she had done something naughty and he was using that tone of voice on her now. It made her feel young in addition to already feeling lost.

"Prove it." She wasn't going to cry. There was no way she could crumble now. Even if all she wanted was to fold herself into a ball and disappear, she wouldn't allow it to happen. The horror of the situation was starting to make her go numb.

The men shared a glance and then Aoshi walked outside. He was gone for a few minutes while Kaoru sat with Jiro and Sano in silence, arms folded and face stony. Sano tried to give her a hug but she wordlessly dodged his attempt and gave him back only a withering glance. He looked terribly hurt but not very shocked by her reaction. What had any of them expected? She wasn't the type to be blinded by the excitement of being a princess so much as hurt by finding out the extent of her life that had been a lie. Aoshi returned with three wands in hand, now retrieved from their hiding spot and looking as nice as the day that the three of them had buried the wands beneath a corner of the house.

Aoshi nodded after they had inspected their beloved items and all three performed the minor magic to return them to their original forms. All three looked essentially still like the men she had always known, but with just enough differences to make them look not quite human. There was the slight point to the ears, for one thing, and the silvery sheen to their skin, but most of all what she noticed was the wings. They were large like a butterfly's but veined like a dragonfly's and they seemed to glow in rainbow colors under the light from outside. Kaoru resisted the urge to sink into the chair. She thought about things hard for a minute or two while the men waited for her to say something.

"Just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I'm not me. Just because you all happen to be fairies, or whatever it is that you are, doesn't mean you are not the same people who brought me up. This is just a change in name. That's all." The men looked visibly relieved. "But," Wings fluttered in renewed tension. "If you all ever lie to me again I swear I will never forgive you." She gave a trembling smile. Obviously she would make it through all of this. Even if it would take a little longer than this initial period to fully convince her.

"That's my girl!" Sano rushed forward and Kaoru allowed herself to be hugged this time, careful to avoid his wings. Aoshi and Jiro soon followed and they stood in a large group of tangled limbs until Kaoru began to shudder beneath them.

Kaoru cried in earnest from the stress of dealing with so many emotions and new facts. Honestly, she was overwhelmed. She tried to tell herself that this was great, that it meant that she would only have that much more family, but as she tried to recall the tale that Sano had related so many times she could barely comprehend how this would change her life for the better. Wanting to go to the city had been one thing; to be forcefully relocated with no prospect of coming back to this little farm which for all purposes was her home made this trip which should have been full of wonder simply an ending to everything. What of Tae and Yahiko? What of the fall harvest? All that fruit just hanging on the trees. . . What of Enishi?

Enishi!

She hadn't even thought about him yet. What would happen when he discovered that she was the kingdom's princess and (from what she knew) its only heir? Would she be allowed to see him? Would he even want to see her? What if he thought she had been lying to him on purpose? Maybe she could catch him if she hurried. He couldn't be more than a couple of miles away by now.

As if they knew what she was thinking, when they all pulled back from their hug and Kaoru mentioned chasing after her much healed patient, the fairies simply tightened their hold on her hands and made her sit down once again.

"There is something else you have to know Kaoru. . ." Jiro began. "It's about Enishi."

"What could you possibly tell me now? I don't know if I can take any more shocks today."

Sano cleared his throat with a nervous cough.

***

Now, Kaoru found herself sitting in a palace, looking down on the city she had so craved to visit from high up in a tower. It was a good thing heights didn't make her nervous. The traveling spell that her relatives. . . her 'relatives'. . . had used to bring them here had left her feeling very dizzy. As soon as she had arrived and nearly fainted into the arms of the stern looking man and the strong looking woman who embraced her with tears and expressions of gratitude, Kaoru knew that her life was really actually no longer the same. She had announced her desire to be alone and with sad faces all the company present had granted her that wish.

It was as if she had become putty to fate's will. She could take finding her parents and discovering her uncles and cousin were really otherworldly beings. The only thing that still caused her actual physical pain when she thought about it was Enishi. She couldn't accept the things Aoshi, Sano, and Jiro had told her about him. There was no way he was a dark magician, and it was especially hard to believe he was out to kill her, or even that he had killed before.

None of it was very important, however, since the shock was still seeping through her system making her feel tired and sluggish. Kaoru yawned, placed a hand before her mouth after a moment of thought since she figured a princess was supposed to be delicate. Or something like that.

"Please, Your Royal Highness, you need to hold still. The light is dying outside and I must work quickly." The little old painter, a man well into his seventies but looking even older with his stooped shoulders and wrinkled face, scolded her.

"I don't see why I have to sit for a painting right this very second. There is plenty of time later. . ."

The little man looked to the side of his canvas, he took in some detail and addressed her even if he wasn't meeting her eyes. "You don't know that, now do you?"

With some pain she remembered the curse. It was all the fault of it that she had to go through all this. The whole situation still seemed to fantastic and ridiculous to be real.

"Their Majesties wished to have a real portrait of you and the king and queen are rather stubborn when it comes to getting their way." Kaoru smiled at the comment that just as well could have been said about her. "I am honored that they would choose me again to present your likeness. Your eyes haven't changed since you were a baby. . . remarkable."

"Oh? When did you paint me before?" Kaoru leaned forward to ask and got a stern look until she sat again with her back straight in her official pose.

The painter gave a little 'ah' and worked for another minute before answering her question. "You were just a baby. I painted you in your mother's arms. It was never finished of course, for after the christening I simply couldn't continue. Didn't seem right. They still insisted on keeping what I had completed. It hangs in their chambers, or so I was told."

That sounded so very sentimental and sad. At first she had resented being thrown into this new situation, but maybe she wasn't thinking enough about the people who had spent so long thinking and wondering about her. What if she had a daughter and had to be separated from them? What if she was in constant ignorance of their safety or their happiness? It must have been abominable.

"There we are. Now, Your Highness, if you could only give me the barest of a smile. . .?"

"I was smiling."

"You can't fool an old student of human nature, Your Highness." His eyes seemed to sparkle with something like condescending amusement. "Now think of something that makes you truly happy and then I'll add it to my canvas."

Kaoru tried to find something that made her truly happy. Several hours ago she could have thought of just about anything in her life, but now it was difficult to come up with anything. Maybe. . .

Sano telling Yahiko stories.

Tae and she eating an entire pie and getting sick from having too much sugar.

Jiro juggling knives for her while she looked on in horror in case he should hurt himself.

The way Aoshi's face would pucker when he was losing an argument.

And Enishi. . .

After a brilliant moment her heart filled like a bellows and then deflated again. Yes, Enishi. Where was he? Did he know? Would he still come to kill her? She had to have faith that what was budding between the two of them was more real than an old hurt he nursed in his heart.

"Why did you stop smiling? I was nearly done. . ."

"I can't anymore, I'm sorry."

The little man seemed to understand and he didn't push the issue any more. He completed as much as he could in silence. By the time he gave up for the day, the sun had sunk beneath the hills. He packed up his things and excused himself. She almost wished he hadn't gone so soon, because once she was left alone her thoughts turned dark. Kaoru wished it hadn't taken so long to do the drawing. If she had missed the last sunset she would ever witness, then that would make dying that much more depressing. Normally she would try to snap herself out of this type of mood, but with no Tae around to come make her laugh at herself it was difficult to even conceive of a time when she was carefree. She looked down on the courtyard stories beneath her and experienced a simultaneous feeling of vertigo and a fleeting urge to just toss herself from the edge. Just get it all over with. If indeed Enishi was coming to kill her then what was the point in stopping him?

The knock at the door forced her out of herself and more into the immediate nature of the room. It was too dark. Not much she could do about that. Tokio was revealed by the turn of a knob and the mother she had only just met swept into the room with a dress in one hand and a small box in the other. The dress looked more expensive than the one she had been changed into upon arrival and for the picture. Kaoru was already afraid of ripping this one; she wouldn't be able to even _breathe_ in that one.

"About four more hours and then you'll be presented to the court. Your father and I are very sorry for having you locked up all alone in the tower, but it is all being done purely for your safety."

Kaoru watched as Tokio moved and noticed the unconscious conservation of movement. It wasn't that she expected Tokio to be old, but there was a spry quality about her that implied that this was a more active queen than Kaoru's expectations would have dictated.

"Are you nervous?" Tokio examined Kaoru and then kept talking despite her unresponsiveness. "I was nervous the first time I went into battle. Not ashamed to say I threw up the first time it was all over. It was such a relief to be alive." The queen smoothed out the dress and then opened the box to reveal a brush which she then inspected.

"Battle?" Kaoru was jolted into curiosity.

Tokio motioned for Kaoru to come over, and once she had situated herself on the edge of a chair in front of the vanity table in the corner, Tokio began to brush Kaoru's hair.

"I disguised myself as a man for two years and joined the army. Through distinguished service I got assigned to your father's company. It was my bad fortune that an infected arrow wound put me in the hospital and the general discovered my little anatomical discrepancy." Her mother's laugh was somewhat rough and deep, like her voice, but comforting. "Instead of sending me away in shame he promoted me. Said he needed more people with ambition and drive like mine. Imagine my surprise when he proposed to me a few months later. Heaven only knows why I accepted when we argued so much. Maybe I just love a challenge."

Wanting to commiserate, Kaoru's mood fell again. Naturally she thought of Enishi. Best not to mention him right now. No one wanted to think about what the next hours would hold, especially this mother who was obviously cherishing the time she was spending with her lost daughter.

"I know this is all new to you, but I promise you that I was just as confused when I went from the commander of troops to a maker of tapestries. . . not that I really do that. I'm just saying that I understand some of what you are feeling, and I'd like to understand more."

Kaoru turned and buried herself into a hug from Tokio, and the queen pulled tightly on her daughter to impress the experience into her heart. Just in case.

"So are you going to help me into that dress, or what?" Kaoru's words were muffled by the fabric on Tokio's shoulder.

"That's what I came here for. You need to look nice to go meet your bodyguard for the rest of the evening. We trust him completely and you should to. He's a nice boy. . .if a little bit to strict about his rules of chivalry. Only someone really talented can get away with using those and living even this long. Trust your mother; she's just a cunning old war dog herself." Tokio's wink made Kaoru laugh a little bit.

They picked up the dress and Kaoru eyed it with a slight waver in her outward show of confidence. "I'm going to look like a purple sausage tied up in that thing. Do you see how many ties that thing has in the back?"

"I know, I know. Only the formal gowns are this impossible. I promise you that in the future you won't have to wear anything this uncomfortable if you don't want to, but first impressions are important. That bunch of courtiers down there may have a lot of fancy and sweet language to toss around, but they are as vicious as sharks if you give them half a chance." Kaoru made an 'oof' noise as Tokio pulled the ribbons tightly. "You'll be as cosmopolitan as the next person before too long, but personally I hope you remember your time in the country. . . there. And now we'll just get the jewelry. . ."

A large dark amethyst, the color of the royal purple Kaoru wore, was draped about her neck. With her hair down and flowing and in this dress Kaoru could barely recognize herself in the vanity mirror. She looked pretty good if she said so herself, even if this wasn't her own preference for style. Tokio also looked proud of her daughter.

"You can really see that gold in your eyes right now. . ." She swallowed the lump in her throat. It was only the start of getting to know her daughter, Tokio reassured herself. "Come with me. Kenshin has been waiting for quite some time. I think he said something about a present for you as well. . ."

"Your Majesty." Kenshin bowed in a formal manner. Tokio liked the serious young man, but he seemed to get too caught up in his sense of duty.

"Kenshin Himura, I've known you for how long?" Tokio patiently went through the ritual.

"Since I was born, Your Majesty."

"When are you going to call me Tokio? Even Auntie Tokio would be just fine with me. I hate to think what will happen after you and Kaoru. . ." She stopped herself. It wouldn't be fair to bring that detail up after everything else that happened today. Tokio cleared her throat. "Anyway, I leave my daughter in your hands while I go to, ugh, mingle."

Kenshin just made another quick bow to assent to the order. Tokio hugged her daughter one more time and then with no more words quickly moved from the room, rubbing the sides of her eyes as she went to keep emotions from spilling out and making her seem vulnerable to the vultures that waited in the great hall below them.

Left alone with another stranger, Kaoru wasn't sure how she was supposed to act. The way he was staring at her was disconcerting. It would be better if he was at least somewhat friendly and less stiff, like that nice old painter man. Naturally, Kaoru was the first one to crack.

"Do you have to stare at me like that?"

"Does it bother Your Highness?"

"It does, in fact."

This little man with his sharp eyes turned them to the side and only glanced at her as his eyes swept the small room over and over again as if some new detail had sprung up to catch his attention. Her eyes twitching in irritation, Kaoru again turned on the poor man who was only trying to do his job.

"You could at least talk to me. Then maybe you could still look in my direction and not creep me out. This whole bodyguard thing is pretty foreign to me, so humor me here."

Kenshin did not think it was appropriate, but he was not about to deny any of her requests. He fingered the ring in his pocket and wondered if he should bring it up. There was little else he had to speak of with her, and he hadn't been instructed not to mention their engagement. . .

"Ahem." Kaoru, who was confused by his sudden spacey look, thought that maybe she had blown his mind in some way. She wasn't trying to scare the guy, she just wanted a decent bit of conversation, anything to take her mind off of the three and a half hours that were left before she turned eighteen.

"If I may be so forward, Your Highness, I have a gift I would like to present to you. It would mean a lot to me if you accept it."

She remembered her mother saying something about that. What a peculiar thing for him to do, but then she didn't know the ways of the city. Maybe this is just what people did for one another. With a dazzling smile that made her even more beautiful, Kaoru watched as Kenshin withdrew a ring from his pocket. It glinted in the light of the lamps just so and Kaoru found herself almost entranced by the way the opal surface seemed to become iridescent and plain milky white in turns.

"Of course I'll accept it," Kaoru reached over and turned it about in her hands. "What's the occasion?" Unable to focus on anything besides the surface of the ring, Kaoru slipped it onto her right ring finger. It fit a little bit tightly, but as she pulled at it, it didn't seem to want to dislodge.

"Why, our betrothal of course. Don't most fiancés give tokens like that? That's what my father told me. . ." His voice was so level and cheerful that at first Kaoru didn't think he had just casually said what she thought he had said. Now she pulled at the ring in earnest, but still it clung to her finger. Was it her imagination, or was it burning cold?

She stopped tugging at it, but her eyes kept being drawn back to the surface of the stone. "Our what?" But already she wasn't listening to the answer as she fell into a rainbow world where nothing could touch her.

***

Enishi had been staring intently at the black opal he wore on a ring upon his hand. It was the twin to that which the princess had just put upon her hand. He knew it because the rings sensed it. No longer did it matter that he did not know where she was. This magic was easy enough to perform now that her will was forced to bend to his. In a weird way, he would be connected to the one he hated so much, but it was inescapable.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on seeing through hers. For a little while he felt her brain fight against his invading consciousness. _Fight me, princess, just try it. You're years away from being able to resist me. . ._

And then he saw that damned knight Himura. The muscles in Kaoru's mouth tried to twist into the curl of rage that Enishi currently wore on his real body.

"Your Highness? Are you well?"

Enishi forced a nod. This was much more work than he had expected. He didn't have much time as she was fighting against him still. Stubborn chit. He just had to get her to say a few words. . .

"I need to go. . . bathroom." It sounded childish, Enishi knew it, but her mouth had formed the proper words to get her left alone. All he needed was five minutes, maybe less. Kenshin left the room to find a chamber pot and Enishi exerted himself a little more to conjure the object he needed. There were not many of them left in the kingdom these days. You had to have a special license to own one these days. This was a particularly nice specimen too, with its fine cherry wood and the sheen of polish. It was perfect, and he knew because he had constructed it himself. The way it worked was an example of enviable and flawless motion, like a dance. Lovingly he had crafted it, carving and polishing each piece before fitting them all together to make the only item he had ever bothered to create that possessed no magic in of itself.

The spinning wheel was just exquisite.

And the spindle was sharp, he knew. Soon the princess would know too. A surge of her mind nearly knocked his control free. The perk of some alien attention caught at the edge of his awareness. Those damned fairies had sensed the ring. They would try to interfere, but she couldn't resist him much longer. He wanted this too badly.

Slowly her hand inched forward only to halt and shake as the princess tried to reclaim her body. Some part of her knew what was going on, and he could feel the fear. Enishi relished it like a connoisseur might a fine wine. Every time she pushed at him Enishi simply conjured up the picture of Tomoe, dying, and her hand lurched forward again. The tug of war continued, but the princess was clearly losing.

"Your Highness!" The clang of the chamber pot as it hit the stone floor startled Enishi for only a second, but he collected himself together and with a final surge of power he forced the princess to impale her index finger upon the spindle. He noted that she fell, but before her eyes closed she did not reach the floor. Little Himura was fast to catch her from so far away.

As she slipped into unconsciousness, there was an exclamation as others entered the room. The voice sounded familiar in its yell, but the content of yell shook him far more than the timbre.

"Damn you Enishi!"

And then he was ejected from a mind that did not even contain a cogent thought let alone a will to resist. Tomoe's curse had been fulfilled. Almost. Now he just had to get to her and plunge his knife into her chest. It was a shame that this way she wouldn't see her end or feel it, but there were some things a villain just couldn't help.

Now that it was done, only two things really bothered him: how anyone in that castle had known his real name, and why he still couldn't picture Tomoe's smile.

Maybe she would smile when the princess was truly dead.

He clung to that hope, but it gave him no real peace of mind.

For some reason he felt dirty. He desperately wanted to see Kaoru. She would make him feel better.

But first. . . he had a job to finish.


	5. Chapter 5

It wasn't until he found the tatters of his shirt that he became well and truly alarmed.

He had gotten too anxious and couldn't wait any longer to see Kaoru, but ended up being ultimately disappointed. Enishi had been sitting at Kaoru's home for a week now, waiting for her to come back. There was no sign of her anywhere near the southern port or on the roads. After a few days he had gotten so desperate that he went to question that friend of hers down the road. The girl had stammered and tried to answer his rapid fire and impatient questions, but she couldn't give him anything besides what he already knew: Kaoru was in the city and she was going to be back soon.

How had he known this would happen? He left and now she was gone, leaving behind nothing but his own slowly frosting heart.

There was no reason to stay in the house, but he did anyway. Enishi slept in her bed which he had himself occupied for a few days. He almost expected to wake up and find her next to him like that first night. Damn those relatives of hers. All he wanted was to protect her before everything in the country went to the dogs. Lord Himura at that very moment was putting together his strategy for invasion. Of course, Enishi had only agreed to letting the stupid man use his highly dispensable troops to create a diversion. The real idea was to keep Goro too busy and therefore force him to let his guard down. The only hard part was going to be the fairies. . .

The bed still smelled like her.

How could they just leave everything behind? They didn't have much money, which was painfully obvious, so how could they afford to just pick up and run? And how did they manage to drag Kaoru with them? They had a promise. Like it or not, Enishi had sworn something he never wanted to take back. He would find her and they would be together if he had to kill every last person in his way.

Hm. She might not like that.

The absence didn't bother him until he found, stuffed into a chest of trinkets in her room, some tatters that he recognized as formerly being part of his shirt. The shirt she said she had thrown away. The only thing he had left behind.

Now, his brain swiftly went into motion. If she left this behind then she thought she was returning at some point, right? That meant that either she was taken by force or simply lied to. In each case she would have to figure it out at some point and then be coerced to comply with whatever her relatives were demanding. He had to stop sulking here and go find her!

Enishi stood up, ready for action, and then swore.

There was no way he could spend that much time to find her while Himura was in the middle of his coup and Enishi's own reserves of control were stretched thin just in keeping the troops from attacking Himura's own personal forces. This meant the only answer was to simply finish off the princess and then throw his whole effort into finding his precious bride to be.

Bride to be. It was a good epithet, and one which he had been using in reference to her more and more. He wanted more than a promise from her to be with him, he wanted her to be really bound to him. Whether it was through heavenly or demonic powers, they would be bound together. But that couldn't happen if he couldn't find her. Maybe if he pushed Himura just a little harder the man would move up his time table.

It would only take another day or two before the princess was resituated anyway, so he had plenty of time. Even if he didn't, Enishi would make sure he would do his part anyway.

With a longing backward glance at Kaoru's room, Enishi swept out to take care of the hasty arrangements.

***

Goro was surrounded by paperwork, arched fingers obscuring his face as he bent into them and spoke slowly to be able to keep up the mask of indifference. The stresses of the past days were almost enough to drive a man insane, but The Wolf was made of sturdier stuff and he knew his own limits. Right now, staring into the eyes of the impassive senior fairy, Goro knew he was approaching one of those limits.

"I said, remove her to the castle at Briar Rose. Are you deaf?"

"No, Your Majesty, but I think it is a grave mistake to take her somewhere that has no buffer to protect Kaoru from the. . ."

Goro broke in. "And it worked so well before did it?" He stood up and threw a packet of papers at Aoshi. "See these? This is the newest correspondence from my spies on the western border. Himura is gathering an army, and not a mortal one. He'll make his bid too, and if it looks like he's going to win then I stand to lose at least 30% of my supposed loyal retainers. People look after themselves, Your Excellency, and no one cares whether or not my comatose daughter lives or dies." The king turned away as he spoke the last sentence, lest Aoshi see the way that last sentence truly affected him.

"I realize this is a tense time. I simply wished to point out that Sanosuke, Soujiro, and I may not be enough to hold back the sorcerer should he make a full out attack. . ."

"With what forces? He's lent them all to Himura, that traitor. I face a tough battle in the next few days. Just organizing all the troops again is creating enough chaos to make people panic. Country people are streaming into the city in droves, seeking protection within these walls, and I don't know if I can protect them or even myself. I'll take care of my front to protect my country. I trust you to protect my daughter. This audience is over." Aoshi knew when he had hit a brick wall, and right now Goro looked pretty stony. With a simple bow, he left.

Goro watched the door close and then took out from a drawer an amethyst ring. It would have matched the necklace. But now he couldn't even give her that much. Personal and important were distinctive concepts. Kaoru, the daughter he loved enough to die for, could not be placed above an entire kingdom of people right now. She would be moved, and that was final.

Even though Tokio wasn't speaking to him.

Even though he was well aware Kaoru was more vulnerable this way.

Kaoru was a distraction, and Goro needed every edge he could get for the up and coming test of his rule.

"I'm sorry." He spoke to himself in a vague manner before putting the ring away again and sifting through papers that claimed portents of doom.

***

"This isn't even a. . . a. . . phalanx! Or whatever it is soldiers organize into!" Sanosuke smacked the wheel of the cart that was slowly pulling Kaoru towards the dilapidated castle to the north, called Briar Rose for what used to be prized rose gardens before the civil war gutted its small economy and left it and the surrounding village mostly deserted.

"It does no use to complain, the queen gave us all the forces she could. These are her personally trained forces. It's amazing she could get this many to come with us." Soujiro tried to find something good to say even if he too felt the support was lacking.

Aoshi simply focused on leading the small caravan and chose not to comment. Right now was a crucial time, with Goro distracted and perhaps even lulled into a false sense of security because the sorcerer had fulfilled his sister's curse. That wasn't all Enishi had wanted, and they were all too aware of it, but Goro seemed to not want to even think about it.

Oh how Aoshi understood. It would be nice just to distance himself from Kaoru, but he would feel like a father abandoning a helpless child. He felt more like her father than Goro right now, and for him the idea that anything, even the fall of a miniscule king in an isolated kingdom could not compare to the importance of this girl who lay so still and deathly in a canopied cart heading for a rotting castle. He'd had years to prepare for it, but now that it had actually happened he felt stripped of his defenses.

The soldiers that were with them, sent by the queen who shared the fairies' sentiments and would have come with herself but for the panic her removal would have caused, looked tired and irritated to be called away from what would surely be battle soon to guard someone would couldn't even move. They didn't understand, but then how could they? They hadn't met Kaoru. They didn't know how arbitrary and unfair a punishment it was to wreak on anyone, let alone someone as loving and beautiful of spirit as Kaoru. Then again, Aoshi was quite biased. Getting mad at people for being ignorant never helped.

"Oi! Aoshi! Is that it?" Aoshi looked up and away from the road directly ahead and more to the left. "It's a total heap! We'll be lucky if it doesn't crush us from just walking in it!"

Sanosuke's colorful language was correct. The castle looked to be in terrible repair. Most likely it had been used as a base and even the site of several battles as many large structures had been all over the kingdom. The stonework would hold, despite Sanosuke's skepticism, but it certainly would be drafty and unpleasant as a residence.

They arrived by early evening and some troops left to go find where they could get some water. The farmers hopefully hadn't fled this area yet, even though it was moderately close to the capital. Mostly, the fairies were left alone to see to their charge on their own. With a little help from some magic, they transported her to a room in the heart of the castle, solid and windowless to prevent drafts. The bed they conjured was more to ease their own minds, because it wasn't as if Kaoru could feel it.

Once she was all laid out, still in her purple dress, hair down, they all stood there as if she had been placed in a coffin. Sanosuke coughed in the silence.

"So what now?"

"I don't know." Aoshi answered. "We never thought it would come to this. Not really."

"I think that we should set up some defenses. We could take turns. . . each of us can come and stay for a few months and then rotate with. . ." Soujiro didn't take his eyes off of Kaoru.

Sanosuke exploded. "We all know how impractical that is! Face it. We'll be guarding her until Enishi dies, or until the day he finally gets past us all and murders her. If we leave her here then that's the same as murdering her ourselves. What solution could there be? I can't live like this!" He ran over and punched at an old shelf that collapsed in a cloud of rotten wood and dust.

"Sanosuke's right." The other two stared at Aoshi in shock. "It is too much to ask of either of you to stay with Kaoru. I insisted on raising her, and I dragged you two along. If you want to go, you can, and I won't blame you. I will watch her. As long as it takes." Her brushed her bangs back from her face, feeling the cold skin of her forehead, before they fell back again.

Soujiro put his hand on Aoshi's shoulder. "Don't martyr yourself just yet. We all agreed to stay because we wanted to. We wouldn't have stayed as long as we did, any of us, if not for the fact that it was our choice to. Just give me some time to think this over."

"That goes for me too." Sanosuke came over to look at Kaoru again. His fist descended on a post on the bed, making it shake but not breaking it. "Damn that Enishi." A spark of something made his eyebrow arch and his mouth quirk into something like a smile. "Hey, Jiro, you said something about defenses, right?"

***

There weren't even flashes of light in the distance. The cannons had disappeared behind Enishi as he made his way to Briar Rose. That would keep Goro busy for a while. This would teach them all. . . in war there were no winners. No one should benefit from war, and Goro had benefited the most so he must suffer for all of them. That's why he thought Tomoe had attacked him all those years ago. It was such a hazy memory in some ways.

He picked his way down the dirt road. No one was out. Why would they be? They were all within the walls of the city, which would soon fall. Who would cross him anyway? He knew that the Manslayer was busy slaughtering his minions left and right. Enishi could care less; they were just grunts. Plenty to spare.

The warm night was so humid, and even this little bit of walking was causing him to sweat in his clothes. Instead of using his magic and alerting those stupid guardians of the princess, Enishi shed his cloak, his gloves, and the shirt he wore over the black under layer. That was better. It was a pain to stifle his natural aura, but it was necessary. Surprise was part of the plan.

But then he noticed that the fairies had set up their own little surprise for Enishi.

Miles in the distance Enishi made out a twisting mass of something. It surrounded the castle as a new wall. No doubt it was the first of many challenges, but Enishi didn't fear any of that. He had a mission and nothing was going to prevent him from finishing what Tomoe had begun.

A scrape of something alerted him to the soldier bearing down with a sword from behind. The queen had trained her forces well, but none of them would ever face the likes of Enishi unless they had sparred with the Manslayer. Of course, they would never do so now, because Enishi had no reason to spare them. His large sword could chip slices from rock without losing its edge. Human flesh was no challenge for it, and Enishi wielded his large blade with astonishing speed. The soldiers were just a passing nuisance.

A few miles and just as many battles later, Enishi found himself facing a large and rather daunting blackberry bush. At least, that's what it resembled. He didn't have to walk around it to know that it covered the circumference of the castle and that it was at least twenty feet high. Who knew how thick it was? Not that it mattered, since Enishi tackled this like he had tackled everything else so far. His sword hacked a path through the thorns which tried to bite at his skin and closed in almost as soon as he had progressed a little into the thicket.

A foot in, it was nearly dark as night, as the twisting wall of thorns almost blocked out all sun. But that was just fine with Enishi. He didn't need light to function and the darkness simply made him feel more at home. With some regret he thought of his discarded cloak as deep gouges seemed to spring into existence as he progressed. Now that he was thinking about it, he should have just burned the whole thing before striding in as if there would be no contest to his conquering this false bit of nature.

Then again, why did it have to be before?

***

While Enishi carved a place in the spiny bushes for himself to sit down, Soujiro and Sanosuke were having a serious discussion. Aoshi sent them to deal with the magician while he remained with Kaoru. Soujiro, who had been the one to erect the wall of thorns in the first place, was having a hard time managing it and concentrating on what Sanosuke was trying to tell him as well. The energy it took to grow the initial wall was easy, but to force the thorns to grow at the speed it would take to even slow Enishi's path was causing the young fairy's head to pound from inner pressure. All this could do was divert the sorcerer for a while. It was really all up to Sanosuke.

"I don't know if that would work. I mean, wouldn't just using your wand be wiser?" Soujiro tried to sense what Enishi was doing now that his movement had stopped. All he could tell was that he was starting some sort of common spell, but nothing specific.

"Nonsense. This will be far more satisfying. Trust me on this. I was never good at those magical battles. But hand to hand combat, that I can do. Finally I'll have some wings I can be _proud_ of. . ." Sanosuke was weaving the transformation about his body and Soujiro watched as he started to enter the first stages of the shift. While Sanosuke was transforming he would be vulnerable and Soujiro needed to make sure that he bought the fighter more time.

Therefore it was with no little panic when he saw smoke billowing out of the brambles. The dry summer day promised no damper, and if it was left unregulated this fire might spread past the brambles and into the countryside. . . this was absolutely evil. Soujiro should have expected nothing less from the sorcerer.

Enishi was hacking easily through burning brush, and Soujiro had to exert himself far more to simultaneously keep the fire under control and to continue to obscure Enishi's path. Sanosuke just needed a few more minutes, but even then Soujiro didn't know if he could hold out.

Sweat covered the young fairy's brow as he watched Sanosuke growl in pain at the way his bones were elongating and twisting to fit new muscles and different tendons. Smoke blew over them and Soujiro coughed, he could barely see in all the smoke. His fingers tingled with numbness and he realized at some point he had been driven to his knees and had been resting with the tips of his fingers buried in the earth. He willed the brambles to grow faster, to react more aggressively, but it was almost impossible to think. Soujiro coughed again and spat, as his mouth went dry with the foul acrid smoke. Enishi broke through with a laugh, and Soujiro saw him exit through another waft of smoke before he passed out face down on the grass in front of the castle's main entrance.

***

Neither Sanosuke nor Enishi saw Soujiro pass out, but without his energy managing the brambles even minimally, they simply collapsed in a heap of cinders, smoldering in this section as the fire spread around to the other parts of the wall. Soon, everyone for miles around would see the smoke and even those in the city would know that the attack upon Briar Rose had begun. Enishi hoped the king and queen were still alive to see it. He tried to laugh again, but inhaled some smoke and ended up hacking until his eyes watered.

Now was not the time to relish this small victory. He kept his sword unsheathed as he made his way forward, only to be greeted by a monster at the gate of the castle. Its reptilian head was full of sharp teeth, giving it a permanent grin, and the tail behind it whipped back and forth impatiently. It looked at its claws and gave an experimental flex, admiring the sharp tips before glancing back at the large bat wings. For a dragon it was rather small, but small was a relative measurement because the beast was still bigger than standard traveling carriage. Size didn't matter, anyway, while speed did, and Enishi knew that small dragons had incredible mobility. The fairies were putting up a decent if ultimately futile defense.

Finally, the beast spotted him, and the feline eyes narrowed as it howled with a jet of crimson flame not far behind. Enishi rolled to the side, avoiding the guttering flames that were far more dangerous to him than the ones in the brambles. For one thing, he hadn't created this flame, and for another, the dragon breathed much hotter flame than any needed to burn a plant. This flame could melt metal.

After continuing the roll, but forward this time, Enishi popped up and brought his sword over the scales of the dragon, making it scream from the impact but not succeeding in breaking the skin. That was somewhat worrying to Enishi. He searched his mind for information on any sort of weak point as he ran and jumped behind a rock while flames curled over his head and singed his hair while he quickly ducked more efficiently to prevent any truly serious burns.

Wait a moment.

Enishi heard the thing start to flap its wings and he saw the smoke move in strange curls above his head. Once it was airborne, his chances would be even worse. Even if he managed to prevent the flames from boiling his body to nothing, he still had to contend with the teeth and claws and tail. Where had those damned fairies found a dragon? He had thought they had all gone extinct except for the few that went underground. . .

By everything evil, Enishi should just give up his crystal ball and renounce his magicianhood. Of course dragons were nearly extinct! No baby dragon, and that's what this would have to be, would be here without its mother, and every magic worker worth his salt knew that those damned fairies were experts at transformations. Back in the bad old days you could hardly walk around a forest without coming across some stupid prince or lord who had been transformed into a bear or a frog or a rosebush or something.

Logically that all pointed to the real flaw in the form the fairy had chosen. . . and that was that it wasn't a natural form. Enishi withdrew his wand, and poured more power than he could really spare into a dispel enchantment. That ought to take the wind out of that fairy's sails. Now if he could just unload it at the right time.

He heard the flap just in time as he jumped to the side, sword abandoned but still clutching his wand, and heard the claws scrape against rock even as he saw the sparks they raised. It had been close. The smoke was both curse and blessing in that it gave him cover but made aiming this spell very difficult. He'd only have one shot at this, and then he'd have to try something else. That was assuming, naturally, that he would live through one failed attempt.

The only way to make this work was to get out into an open area and just take a chance. He had had good luck so far, so he knew he probably shouldn't push it, but without courage he wouldn't get any further than now. Today would be the day. It had to be the day.

Enishi took a breath low to the ground to avoid more smoke in his lungs and then ran for the inner courtyard just beyond the arch that led into the castle. The almost gleeful scream that descended upon him from above was easy enough to track, and Enishi threw himself sideways so that he landed on his back and faced the dragon as it fell upon him, claws outstretched, while Enishi used two hands to point the wand squarely in the beast's direction.

The blast of energy hit the dragon and instead of raking Enishi up his whole body and splitting the sorcerer into two messy halves, it crashed yards away and flopped uselessly into the stone arch. The body was smoking and twisted. Even if the fairy survived, as Enishi assumed it had since it seemed to still be breathing, it would be out of commission for a while. He could easily finish it off when he had more time and could find a way to get through the scales. If he waited, it would just transform back, as it was starting to even now, and then it would be even easier to deal the fairy an efficient death. Either way, he could continue on for now.

Loudly, Enishi swore as he picked himself up off the ground. That fall had been harder than he had thought it would be and his body complained. There would be bruises all over tomorrow, and in addition to the cuts and scrapes he looked a lot worse than he felt. At least his clothing wasn't ripped too much. Nothing would be more embarrassing than having his rear hanging out of his trousers when he was killing the princess. It wasn't a very noble image.

After finding his sword, Enishi began to search the castle. Most of the smoke was staying outside of this area, and only a faint smell of it lingered on him as he walked through room after room with no success. Where were other traps? Where was the princess? Part of this quick strike was to prevent his enemies from being too well prepared, but it was always possible that they were more resourceful than he had counted on.

***

It took maybe twenty minutes of aimless wandering before he found a portion of the castle that had dusty footprints leading up a set of stairs. Good thing he was observant at the moment, else he would have been at this all night and he'd prefer not to have to deal with boredom as well as battles for his life. In some ways boredom was much worse than the battles.

He followed the footprints to a door made of solid looking wood. The footprints only lead back in the direction he had come, and with something like a cross between relief and jubilation, Enishi put his hand on the knob and pushed the door open even as he backed away quickly and flattened against the wall. At the very least, he had been expecting some sort of trap. Only silence and the inner darkness of a lightless room met his eyes. Enishi felt his skin crawl as instincts hold him to remain cautious. They were quite right.

"I wondered." A voice in the darkness reminded Enishi of some unpleasant associated memory. "I suppose the others are dead."

"Not yet. I'll clean up later." Enishi allowed himself to smile even as his mind raced to remember where the second fairy had been. He couldn't remember, but he didn't feel all that alarmed by it.

"I'd fight you with magic, but I think you have made this more personal than I can overlook. We'll do this right." An orb of light sparked and illuminated the enclosed room.

Enishi's sword dropped from his nerveless fingers just as the devilish smile he had been sporting was wiped from his face.

It was Aoshi.

Albeit, this was a much changed Aoshi, in the tight robes of his kind and looking very much more like a magical being, but nevertheless he was the Aoshi that Enishi knew and didn't particularly like. This Aoshi was even more hateful, as he clutched a sword in each of his hands, slim and of different lengths. The way his body was positioned, Enishi knew that Aoshi had been trained to use them and had over a century to perfect that art.

That wasn't what made Enishi heart twist and break.

It didn't take a genius to figure out just who it might be who lay beneath the canopied bed in the center of the room.

"What's this? The great lord of the Western Spire losing his will to fight?" Aoshi's voice was deadpan but had the aftertaste of spite to it. "Why stop now when you're so very close?"

"Shut up." Enishi didn't want to think about this. It was all wrong. The hate was trying to slip away, being replaced by soft throbbing feelings too human to be anything Enishi recognized by name in himself. He had to hold on to the mission, to Tomoe. With no little effort, Enishi forced himself to pick up his sword again.

Aoshi's eyes narrowed. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"It's what I've always wanted."

"Things can change."

"Are we going to talk or are we going to fight?" Enishi backed into the hallway. Aoshi followed.

Blow for blow, they seemed evenly matched, but Enishi had been forced to draw his dagger and wield his sword one handed to be able to block Aoshi's two handed fighting method. This was worse even than fighting that little Manslayer. Then, the speed of that red haired devil had been his undoing, but while Enishi had greater speed compared to the fairy, he didn't have the years of experience. Once Enishi grew tired and his speed lessened, then he would lose. He had to end it quickly. But when you faced an opponent who gave you no openings, what did he have left?

Cheating.

It was dishonorable, and it was only a temporary fix, but he knew it would provide him with all the time he wanted to do what he needed to do.

After fighting down to one end of the hall, Enishi forced them to circle one another while trading blows. Assured he was in a good position, Enishi flashed a smile at Aoshi and then threw his large sword at the man. Aoshi was thrown off balance and hit it away, but that brief stagger was enough time for Enishi to get to the door to the princess' room. He threw his weight at the door, closing it, and then he broke the knob off after throwing the catch to lock it.

Even with a spell, it would take Aoshi a minute or two to get past that door.

The still glowing orb cast an ethereal sheen on Kaoru's face. Enishi clutched the dagger in his hand and raised it above her chest. He was sure this was what he had to do.

Wasn't he?

He knew what the spell was. He knew the conditions for its release.

Still unsure of his feelings, or even of why he was doing this when victory was in his grasp, Enishi bent down and kissed Kaoru on the lips. He wanted her wake up. He wanted to know if this was love or if it had just been a fickle princess' trick on a random wanderer. Either way, he would have to kill her in the end.

The pounding on the door couldn't distract him from his intent stare at Kaoru's reposed face. Each hit against the door was like a second ticking away as he looked for signs of life.

When he could not wait any longer, Enishi let his feelings of betrayal surge and amplify his anger at the failure to wake his sleeping princess. The dagger rose high as he wanted enough force to get it through the ribs and into the heart.

It was in that position that Aoshi found Enishi as he slammed the door to the ground and off of its iron hinges.

It was in that position that Kaoru found Enishi as her eyes flickered open and blue met turquoise in unfocused confusion.


	6. Chapter 6

It was a world of black. The fall to the floor had been swift, and Kaoru had heard Aoshi cry out.

Then nothing.

Then her blank world instead became one of supreme pain. Every muscle in her body felt like it was asleep and the pins and needles made everything fuzzy. She didn't want to open her eyes and greet the inevitable discomfort. Eventually, the crash of something assaulted her ears and she was forced to face whatever reality was waiting for her.

Out of the three of them, Kaoru felt she had the most reason to seem shocked but her mind just sort of accepted what her eyes were telling her: Aoshi, standing by a broken door, was bleeding through some fancy clothes she had never seen him wear before. Enishi, standing above her, singed hair, torn clothes, bleeding body (it rather reminded her of how he looked the first time they met) with a dagger poised above her chest and looking poised to strike.

Kaoru closed her eyes again.

Then opened them.

Yep, this was the real world. Damn. That meant that she had to actually deal with this.

The men seemed to both be waiting for Kaoru to do something. She sat up slowly, her breathing labored as she tried hold back a groan for the way her still tingling muscles caused her more discomfort that she wanted to admit to. Kaoru's sharp eyes saw the sheen of metal in Aoshi's hands. That explained some of this. She wanted to ask how long she had been out, or what had happened, but none of that mattered yet. Those things would only have relevance if she lived through the day, and from Enishi's expression, she wasn't sure that she would.

Kaoru took two deep breaths. The air was stale, but she savored it. Even if she was going to die, at least she would see it coming and had time to prepare mentally. No questions, no uncertainty, just Enishi and a dagger.

"Aoshi, no matter what you think I may think of you and Sano and Jiro, know that I love you and that you are my family. I couldn't have asked for a better one. You can tell them that for me."

"Tell them yoursel—" Kaoru held up a hand to silence her guardian.

"Let me finish." She looked up at Enishi, who was sweating from strain for maybe the first time in his life, and locked his eyes with her glare. "Enishi. I said I love you, and I do. My family told me about your sister. I'm sorry for what happened to her, and I can't do much about the curse. That is over so far as I'm concerned. The moment I woke up, any connection I felt I shared with her was severed."

Enishi had lowered the knife but had not sheathed it.

"If you still feel that you need to kill me to feel whole, then do it. I will lie here and accept your decision, because to live my life at the cost of your death is not something I could abide by. You woke me. There is no one else. If I am going to be killed by anyone, then it should be you." His eyes couldn't waver from hers, and they didn't blink. "But you know your own heart better than I. If your bond to your dead sister means more to you than I do, kill me. But if you are just doing this out of obligation to the promise you made her and not because you believe in it, then I swear I will come back and haunt you. I can do that, I'm stubborn enough."

His hand clenched the dagger, knuckles white. Enishi didn't say anything, he just looked at Kaoru with eyes that threatened to sear her soul.

"No interfering Aoshi. I know what I'm doing. I've already been dead once today. It's not so bad right?" She laid back down and soaked the vision of Aoshi and Enishi standing there into her cornea before she settled down completely to wait.

Kaoru, who looked so brave, was glad that she was already pale from low blood pressure because she was nervous she was about to throw up. Noble gestures were well and good, and she had meant what she had said, but that didn't mean that even brave people couldn't be exceptionally scared. The difference between the brave and the cowardly, so far as Kaoru was concerned, was that the brave people didn't let the fear get to them. Oh gods, Enishi, her brain cried, please don't let me down.

***

The object of her prayer was at that moment suck motionless at a complete impasse. He looked inside for Tomoe and came up with nothing. All he could remember was that sad expression of her as he swore vengeance. What if he had been wrong all this time? What if this wasn't what she wanted? In that case, how could he ever justify the chaos and evil he had caused? Years of sin weighed down on him for the first time and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

Now that she was there. . . he knew he couldn't thrust the dagger into her. She had been right, Tomoe was barely a memory anymore and more a feeling long faded. Everything Kaoru had offered he had abused as he lied to her and taken advantage of every opportunity to try to chip away at her good opinion of others or the trust she had for her family. She had resisted it all and instead tried to change him in the same instant. Kaoru was all that he wanted, everything good that his life was missing, but he was more aware than ever of how he didn't deserve her. Did anyone deserve her? His mood turned vicious and reproachful.

The dagger descended swiftly, with an intent to kill.

But it never hit its target.

"No!" Aoshi gripped the blade of the dagger, preventing the dagger from going any further than the tip that had broken the skin. Blood was beginning to ooze through his fingers, but Aoshi looked determined and totally unaware of this fact.

Kaoru, whose face had screwed up at Aoshi's outburst, had readied herself for the immediate piercing pain that she expected to feel before she died. But when nothing happened, she sat up with the idea to scold Aoshi for doing exactly what she told him not to, but the words died in her throat.

Expressions identical, Enishi and Aoshi were locked together with Aoshi holding the dagger from its path into Enishi's own chest. Kaoru's eyes filled with tears at the sight. She couldn't cry for herself, but this was different. This was something she hadn't counted on.

"Don't." Aoshi's voice was soft, but not unkind. "Even if you don't want your life, this action is just as selfish as Tomoe's. Think of who you would be hurting. Suicide is an escape, not a solution. I may not like you, but I won't watch you do this." Enishi's jaw tightened and after a tense moment he let go of the handle. Aoshi tossed the dagger across the room and inspected his hand with a grimace.

The bedposts were a blessing, so far as Kaoru was concerned, for as her muscles began to feel the blood circulation again she could barely pull herself up otherwise. Enishi stared at the ground, like a statue of defeat, limp and blank, but he moved with surprise as Kaoru wrapped her arms gently around him. She was mindful of his injuries, but couldn't help but squeeze him a little tighter than would probably comfortable. He tried to shrug her away feebly, but she wouldn't be extracted.

She caught his eye and then smiled with a rare radiance. Her cascading hair, her blushing cheeks, and the look of love on her face actually prompted a small quirk of a smile on one side of Enishi's mouth. Kaoru leaned forward and kissed the smirking corner.

"That's because I love you." Then her eyes began to burn and the slap she gave him resounded in the small room. Enishi held the slapped cheek and angrily bore down on Kaoru, who matched him glare for glare. "And that's for giving me a scare. Don't you ever, ever, do that again or else I kill you myself!" It didn't make sense, but Kaoru's ire, once released, was rarely logical.

"That hurt!"

"This coming from the man who tried to stab himself! That would have hurt to you know. . .!"

"It's not the same thing. I was being noble. . ."

"You were being stupid!"

"I was not!"

"QUIET!" Aoshi had never raised his voice that loud in his life, and it startled him too to some extent. "I'd love to continue to watch you both bicker but so long as neither of you plans to die then could someone help me find something to bind this cut with?"

Kaoru looked down at the fancy royal purple dress, shrugged, then ripped out a large strip and began to wrap it around Aoshi's hand. It would have to do for now. Enishi, now that he was denied the benefit of adrenaline, was also beginning to ache all over and actually feel those various cuts. The ones from the brambles were stinging especially for some reason. It was like having paper cuts all over his arms.

"There. I think you didn't cut anything major, you just sliced the heck out of your fingers and palm. Probably need some stitches." She looked at Enishi who was picking at his hair and finding it feeling strangely crunchy at the burnt black tips. "I suppose you need to be looked at too."

He thought back to his earlier adventures. Oh crap. He pushed up his glasses to obscure his face a little bit, as if that would change the past somehow.

"I don't think I'm the one who needs to be looked at first. . ."

***

"Ow."

"Stop complaining."

"Ow."

". . ."

"Ow!"

"Look, if you do that for every stair you go up then I'll push you down when we get to the top." Aoshi had had enough of this. Sanosuke was being a big baby. He was lucky to have only walked away from that accident with a few broken bones and some bruised ribs. They had done what they could for him magically, but there were some things the body just had to take care of itself. The neck brace and the crutches were a testament to how hard he fought, but they also seemed to be a license to irritate everyone else. At least Soujiro had been fine, if fatigued, but he didn't even mention his part in all this. Aoshi was glad because there was a lot there he didn't want to remember.

Like saving Enishi's life. That had been a big mistake. Now he had to watch that menace put his hands all over their little Kaoru. At least they didn't kiss in public, but the idea that they did in private (as he was sure they did) made Aoshi's stomach flop and his fingers itch to take up his swords again. He only had to carve out a few vital bits and then he'd be perfectly fine with Kaoru being with him anytime. . .

"Aoshi, you're scaring me here. Stop smiling like that." Sanosuke struggled up another few steps. Soujiro followed a few steps behind to make sure Sanosuke didn't fall back and break anything new.

"Did Enishi really have to be moved so high up?" Soujiro was feeling a little winded.

Aoshi paused to let the other two catch up. "Well, when Kaoru requested that he be moved out of the basement dungeons into someplace higher Goro probably thought it was the best thing to do. He doesn't want to be any closer to the man than anyone else. . . besides Kaoru."

"I think it's very good of Enishi to agree to a trial, though I don't know if he'll let himself be sentenced. . ." Soujiro pulled his body up another flight of stairs.

"Bah. Himura's a convenient scapegoat. As soon as Enishi dropped his support it was only a few hours before Goro had won back all the territory he had lost. With Himura still alive, he'll probably carry the brunt of the punishment since the king had decided not to try Enishi for all his past crimes. Methinks a pardon will be in the works as a wedding present to Kaoru." Sanosuke didn't sound terribly happy about the last bit.

"Has she said who she wants to give her away yet?" Soujiro asked innocently, but all three of them eyed one another. It wasn't a privilege that any of them would turn down, even if they had to give her away to that damned sorcerer.

They stopped in front of a door, bolted multiple times on the outside with bars on the small window. Aoshi looked in and saw Enishi working at a desk, pushing his glasses up his nose and then turning back to whatever he was writing. Aoshi didn't knock; he simply began to unbolt the locks. The guards on either side of the door didn't protest since everyone knew these three gentlemen on sight after they had returned from Briar Rose and Kaoru had been presented to the court and kingdom. Soujiro stepped in to help when Aoshi struggled with a difficult lock due to his still healing hand.

Enishi had heard the locks and was standing and ready to receive them when the door opened. As usual, he had that sinister smirk on his face, but he was trying to change it into something almost friendly and the fairies noted the effort with some suspicion.

"I suppose you're all wondering why I requested you to visit me."

"Kaoru was very vague." Soujiro was the only one who could still talk civilly to the magician so he would act as the voice of the group.

"My darling fiancé insisted that I speak to you all about something important to her. Personally I think such traditionalism is irrelevant, but she seems to desire it. . ." He was circling the issue warily. "May I have your permission to marry Kaoru?"

Soujiro bit his lip and looked to the other two fairies who also seemed unsure. "Would it make any difference if we said 'no'?"

"To me, no." His honesty was galling, especially the acidic way he said it. "I'd still find a way to marry her. But I think she would feel much better if she knew that you all accepted this, at least on a superficial level. You can tell me anything you want, but so long as what we all say to her corroborates then she'll be happy."

"Then, I think I speak for all of us, when we say that we give you our permission. Maybe not full or whole-hearted, but it is permission we won't begrudge you." Soujiro's words prompted nods from Sanosuke (more of a dipping forward considering the neck brace) and Aoshi.

Clearly, Enishi was shocked, and it took him a moment to find the words. "But why? Don't you hate me? I've just stepped up and stolen your princess out from under you." He was just trying to get them to react now, and indeed Sanosuke seemed to bristle and twitch.

"Oh, well, we all do hate you intensely." Soujiro spoke cheerfully. "But we love Kaoru and we trust her to know what she wants. Besides, we can't argue with the fact that you did wake her up after all. Who are we to say that Kaoru shouldn't marry her fated match?"

For a moment, Enishi examined the honest faces of these men. "She must be the luckiest girl alive. I don't think she's ever had to deal with any truly evil people in her life, possibly myself, but even then she walks away with a proposal and a new family." He walked over to the window and placed his glasses aside. Enishi was trying honestly to adjust to regular light for Kaoru's sake. It was one of many gifts he was ready to offer her for this second chance at life she had given him.

Content with the audience and ready to leave, Soujiro stood and grasped Enishi's hand in a firm shake. Maybe all of them would come to an understanding, a peace, maybe even mutual respect, once more time had passed and Enishi had proven himself reformed. But that was years away, and for now they would have to be content with an unsteady truce.

"You're wrong about Kaoru. She's seen just as much evil as any of us, maybe more since she knows as well as anyone about what lies in our hearts thanks to my gift, but the difference is that Kaoru honestly thinks people can be better than what the surface shows. . . and darn it all if people don't want to disappoint her. Who knows if it was the gift she received from Aoshi, or if it's just the way she is." Soujiro shrugged.

Soujiro helped a mumbling Sanosuke out of the room but Aoshi lingered behind. Aoshi examined his hand, then looked up at Enishi once more. His lips tightened.

"You hurt her, and I'll find you. And trust me, you won't want me to find you."

Enishi laughed shortly with honest admiration in his eyes. "I'll keep that in mind." With almost an afterthought, he added "What she and I have is real. It isn't the product of any gifts or curses. I know that those are just suggestions. They have limited binding power if the person is not predisposed to them in some manner."

"Then you know how lucky you are."

Enishi nodded and Aoshi gave the barest of smiles as he withdrew from the room. Left alone, Enishi continued work on the letter he had been drafting to Kaoru. He wasn't allowed to see her until after the trial, but now he had some great news to give her and the sooner he finished this the better.


	7. Epilogue

Kaoru grumbled as she tossed her skirts away and attempted to stand up. No one ever told her that the wedding dress would be pounds and pounds of fabric all contained by a corset and high shoes. She had tried to fight the shoes, since Tokio had insisted upon the dress, but it was ultimately useless. No one would even see them! Why did they have to be nice!?

Now that she was being led to her spot at the end of the aisle and the music was striking up, she didn't know what to do. Was it her wedding day? She was the one in the dress, so it must be. Then again. . . a lot of those people didn't look so friendly to her eyes right now. Pretty much every noble worth a scrap of land or even just a title and a lot of the richer merchants had been invited. Then entire great hall was packed with people, standing room only, and the long strip she'd have to walk seemed almost claustrophobic.

A firm hand took Kaoru by the elbow as she took an unsteady step out there to confront those many eyes.

"You're not going without me, Jouchan." Sano beamed down at Kaoru, a cane in his hand the only reminder of injury left. One of the bones was healing more slowly than the other, so the cane was just a temporary but essential accessory.

Behind Sano were Jiro and then Aoshi (who had lost the draw to determine the marching order when leading Kaoru down the aisle) whose smiles did wonders for her fluttering heart and nauseated stomach. She reached over and squeezed Sano's hand before composing herself as the music struck up.

_Why is this hallway so long? Am I going to trip on my dress? I felt it just then and if I tripped. . . no. . . wait. . . Sano will catch me. But then I am pretty heavy, if he didn't and we all went down. . . . oh dear lord why didn't I elope? I never cared about having a big to do like this. _Kaoru's thoughts were manic, not that her outward composure betrayed any of that.

Her brain lost itself entirely when Sano let her go and instead of her unfocused stare straight ahead she looked up into Enishi's face, similarly composed, but looking like it was trying to crack judging from the way his eyes were shining and watering a little bit. She realized with some consternation that he was laughing at her. Hell! Stupid dress! Idiotic Enishi! She would have kicked him if it were not for the hundreds of people (thousands?) that were staring at them right now.

Kaoru and Enishi turned to her father. It would be his job to marry them. Tokio stood beside him. Her face was gentle, as if trying to help Kaoru loosen up, because the poor girl looked like she was made of wood right now and utterly petrified. Goro looked just as displeased at most of the crowd.

Few people knew the truth yet even though rumors had run rampant during the past two months of trial and the following month of wedding preparation. What this looked like to most of the rest of the nobility was that Goro was trading over his only daughter to a magician who wanted to kill her in exchanged for peace and his continued rule. Goro let them think what they wanted. If he was seen as a cold bastard and someone to be feared, then maybe that would only help him keep his thumb upon any one else who had bright ideas like the late Lord Himura. Of course, if anyone did try anything, Goro had both a powerful son-in-law as well as the absolute loyalty of the new Lord Himura, Kenshin.

True to the image he still liked to project, Enishi was all in black and looking particularly menacing today. He even had those glasses of his on. Kaoru was deeply envious of his ability not to be ruled by the wishes of others. Everyone was expecting him to be sinister and he clearly enjoyed playing the part. Her feet hurt, how long was her father going to talk?

Oh no, Enishi was looking at her. Was she supposed to say something?

With so much relief she nearly fell into a boneless heap in front of her soon to be husband, Kaoru felt her hand be gently lifted by Enishi and a ring slipped on the finger. She did the same for him according to her father's instructions. There was more to say, and she tried to concentrate on the words, but they had rehearsed this a few times already and so it just had the effect of feeling like the fourth or fifth time she had gotten married. It didn't matter to her that all these other people were here. The important ones had always been present.

Her feet and the throbbing of her toes in these pointy torture devices made her want to jab a spiky heel into whoever had invented them.

Kaoru looked at Enishi, who had that devilish look in his eyes again. She was suddenly aware of the silence around them, and the disapproving looks. With the first real smile she had offered since she had gotten into this dress, Kaoru leaned her face up to receive what she knew was coming.

To the side of the dais, Sano, Jiro, and Aoshi were trying to restrain themselves. The sorcerer was holding their Kaoru a little more closely than necessary. Jiro made his smile stay in place for the sake of appearances, but Sano started to sway as though he was ready to jump up and punch the young man when they all noted in some shock that not only was the kiss not stopping but their mouths had just opened a little bit. . .

Kaoru separated with more than a slight blush when the king softly cleared his throat to get the attention of the couple. Naturally, Enishi didn't look at all sorry for that wanton display. The music started up again, and Kaoru gave a look around to her new parents and to her three beloved guardians before she turned and walked slowly down the aisle with Enishi at her side. The way he clenched his hand tightly and painfully around her arm was the only indication she had that he too had been nervous. Somehow, that admission of weakness made her feel a little better.

***

The late October sunshine was did little to off set the dry cold. There were canopies up in case of rain, but the day was fair. People filed out of the great hall, where musicians set up for dancing later, to greet the couple personally. After the first fifty, Kaoru wondered if Enishi would snap. He already looked like he was ready to break off the next person's hand he shook. It was a personal touch that the king had insisted with a sadistic smile that Enishi simply had to do to make himself more personable to the people of the kingdom.

Kaoru personally thought that Goro had just told him to do it because he knew Enishi would hate it.

Sano, Jiro, and Aoshi moved up finally. They were going to leave after this, she knew, and report back to their organization to be reassigned to whatever was waiting for them. Jiro had explained to her that for most of that time they had been registered as being 'on leave' and therefore they had a lot of responsibilities that they would have to fulfill that were just waiting for them. Sano had grumbled something about twenty years of paperwork, but Aoshi had glared at him and the tall fairy had quickly quieted.

They first encountered Kaoru. Instead of the polite curtsey that she had been offering the rest of the line, she practically threw herself into Sano's arms and then the other two in turn. The severe looks that had caused most of the other people present to shy away from the powerful magical beings softened under this onslaught of love and satin.

"It's not still too late. You can get out if you want." Sano said it in a stage whisper so that Enishi would hear too. The twitch of an eyebrow as he made small talk with some elderly duchess was the only reaction that registered. Kaoru just laughed.

"You all will have to visit me as much as you can. I mean, I realize that you all have busy lives and all, I'm sure, but," Her throat seemed to thicken as she spoke. "I've never been without you for longer than a week, and even then there was always one of you who stayed with me."

They didn't know what to tell her. It was a sad parting for them as well.

"We'll just have to have a baby soon so that they can come to the christening." Enishi was behind her, and the receiving line was immobile and irritated with the slow pace the couple was setting.

"That is _not_ funny." Aoshi's stern tone made everyone smile.

"Feel free to wait." Jiro looked nervous. Sano simply murmured something under his breath.

***

The food was being put away and only a few people lingered in the great hall (most of them either too drunk to move or already passed out). Goro and Tokio had retired to their chambers for the night (Tokio had to drag the king away from his daughter towards the end of the evening because he took every opportunity he could to separate Kaoru and Enishi).

Kaoru and Enishi sat on an upper balcony overlooking the hall from the back. Enishi rather unromantically commented on how a sniper with a crossbow could easily take down anyone in the hall from this vantage point. Kaoru brought her heel down on his instep and he yelped.

"Hush. Just enjoy the peace."

Enishi hugged Kaoru with his arms circling around her front and rested his chin on her head after removing the headpiece that still kept her hair swept up.

"You mother gave me the most frightening talk. I think she may be even more intimidating to deal with than your Aoshi."

Content to let him talk, Kaoru just made a soft noise in the back of her throat.

"She asked me if I had any. . . er. . . experience in the bedroom."

"Well do you?" Kaoru's body shook with held in laughter.

"Do you?" he countered in a cranky manner.

"What if I said yes?"

"Then I'd find him and I'd kill him." The joke was there, but it was underlay with a serious note that made Kaoru a little uncomfortable.

"Then I'll say no. I wouldn't want to have to wait for you to go through another trial. You might actually be found guilty. . ."

By the stiffening of his shoulders, Kaoru knew she had touched on something he was still sensitive about.

"You were pardoned. It's a clean slate. I forgave you. Just stop letting it bother you."

"Did you know that when we were getting congratulated by all those people, a few of them congratulated me and offered their services in practically the same breath. Even after the mess with Himura there are still people desperate and greedy enough to try to get in my favor." He let her go and started to wander away. "And a part of me wants the violence and intrigue. I'm never going to be what you want me to be."

Kaoru spun around and confronted him with her temper out in full force again. She was becoming very easy to read. Now she didn't even attempt to shield what she was feeling from him. It was refreshing and charming even as he felt it was overly trusting.

"And what do you think I wanted you to be, eh?" She threw up her hands and rolled her eyes. "I give up! Fine! You're a horrible person and I hate you. Does that make you feel any better or do you prefer your self pity?"

Her finger jabbed him in the middle of his chest as she spoke, and Enishi couldn't stand it anymore. She was just too cute. Instead of an answer he brushed his fingers over her cheek so lightly that she twitched from the way it tickled. Kaoru's hands moved up and removed his glasses, and then his head bent down to kiss some of the creamy expanse of her throat. When her chest was moving quickly from her rapid exhales, Enishi realized that maybe here was not the best place to spend their wedding night.

"Why don't we get to bed." Statement. Not an invitation or question. She thought about protesting just to be difficult but from the way his skin radiated heat in the cold room and how his eyes were dark and glossy, Kaoru picked up on much of the urgency of the question.

She nodded, but when her hobbling from the shoes proved to slow them too much, Enishi simply picked her up and slung her over his shoulder while she shrieked and pounded him on the back with her fists at the indignity. He swatted her on the rear once playfully to hear another loud burst of fury from his bride and then laughed all the way up to the door of their room.

He hesitated at the door only because some of the weight of the day had hit. The ring on his finger carried new pressures, expectations, hopes, and he gave it a quick glance before he turned the knob and brought the struggling bundle of satin that was his wife into the room. Tomorrow he and Kaoru would start on an overland path to the Western Spire. There were things he needed to take care of there. Hopefully she wouldn't be disgusted by the place, but he was sure she would react to it in the same loving way she tolerated many eccentricities of his.

With a toss, Kaoru flew through the air and landed with an oof on the bed. She bounced once before she settled, hair flying every which way, and several layers of her dress tossed about awkwardly.

"You're impossible." Her arms folded and she fell onto her back.

"I love you too." Enishi said with a grin.


End file.
